Texas Closes More Abortion Clinics
Three abortion clinics have closed in Texas this week, bringing the count of clinics that have closed since the state enacted new abortion mandates to 25.
These new mandates concerning abortion clinics introduced a significant number of new restrictions on abortion providers, designed both to protect patients and limit what some would call an "immoral" surgical procedure. Still, many medical experts and abortion practitioners are arguing that these restrictions are too much too fast, as clinics rush to try to meet mandates before facing closure.
Since the restrictions were enacted at the beginning of November 25 clinics have closed their doors either because their practitioners face suspension or because their faculties couldn't afford to meet new regulations.
According to HealthCare Daily, of Dallas and Fort Worth Texas, only six of the 19 remaining abortion clinics in Texas have met the newly enacted laws' mandates.
In the case of those that closed, many have shut their doors because they could not afford to turn their clinics into ambulatory surgical centers -- same-day surgery centers that serve hospital outpatients and adhere to hospital staff and equipment standards.
With the legislations, abortion doctors are also now required to obtain admitting privileges from a local hospital within 30 miles of their clinic, and otherwise cannot take patients. This has been the bane of several of the clinics that have closed, as they were not located within 30 miles of any hospital at all. According to the legislation, the mandates do not consider minor-care local health clinics, even if certified, as hospitals.
With the closures, the Rio Grande Valley, one of Texas's poorest regions -- complete with one of Texas's highest teen pregnancy rates -- no longer has access to a single abortion clinic.
While pro-life supporters celebrate the fruits of their efforts, saying that the closure of these clinics are protecting the lives of mothers and their unborn children, critics of the mandates claim say that the law was designed to shut down abortion clinics far more than it was designed to help these clinics improve the standards of their care.
© MD News Daily.