Abortion-rights supporters said the new law requiring the state's 22 free-standing abortion clinics to follow the same licensing regulations as other ambulatory surgical facilities is costly to comply with and could force some clinics to stop performing abortions.
But why shouldn't abortion clinics be held to the same standards as other health care facilities? Do abortion-clinic patients deserve any less? Isn't their safety just as important?
Abortion-rights supporters see the new regulations as another attack on reproductive-health rights. They say that every time something like this happens.
But the regulations more likely are an attempt to prevent a repeat of what was discovered last year at a West Philadelphia abortion clinic dubbed "House of Horrors," operated by Dr. Kermit Gosnell.
Gosnell, 69, has been charged with eight counts of murder in the deaths of a woman following a botched abortion. He also is charged in the deaths of seven babies allegedly born alive following illegal late-term abortions and killed with scissors.
Prosecutors said conditions at the Gosnell clinic were deplorable, with urine-splattered walls and blood stains on the floors. Jars containing the remains of aborted fetuses dating back 30 years were uncovered by authorities.
Gosnell's alleged conduct and the appalling conditions at his clinic outraged people across not just Pennsylvania but the nation, regardless of their views on abortion.
The so-called House of Horrors is what prompted the state Legislature to act, not an opportunity for an end-run around abortion rights.
The new regulations should discourage future Kermit Gosnells from engaging in such ghastly criminal behavior.
