MRL Strongly Supports HB 1478 filed by Rep. Kathryn Swan

Legislation Filed Today Giving More Oversight and

Accountability for Abortion Clinic Inspections

MISSOURI RIGHT TO LIFE STRONGLY SUPPORTS

HB 1478 GIVING MORE OVERSIGHT & ACCOUNTABILITY

FOR ABORTION CLINIC INSPECTIONS

Thursday, January 16, 2014

The following statement can be attributed to Pam Fichter, President of Missouri Right to Life:

Today, Representative Kathy Swan, of Cape Girardeau filed HB 1478, The Women's Health Care Protection Act", Missouri Right to Life's priority legislation for the 2014 legislative session. HB 1478 has 107 sponsor/cosponsors and is a strong bi-partisan pro-life legislation that will protect women and save babies.

Missouri Right to Life seeks to place in statute stricter inspection requirements and more accountability for abortion clinics. We feel that establishing statutory requirements rather than relying solely on regulations for oversight of abortion clinics would be less subject to the agenda of a particular agency or political party. We find that even though we have regulatory requirements for clinic inspections, the most recent report on Planned Parenthood shows that these aren't being enforced thus putting women as risk.

Atrocities at abortion clinics in Pennsylvania and Texas and multiple violations of health requirements at the St. Louis Planned Parenthood facility where 23 ambulances have been called in the last 4 years illustrate the need for this legislation. A number of these emergencies occurred in 2013 even after an inspection showed some of the following clinic and personnel risks were supposedly corrected.

St. Louis Planned Parenthood Health Violations:

* Violations of infection prevention protocol

* Rusty surgical tables, suction abortion machines, IV stands, and other equipment

* "Copious amounts of dust" in surgical rooms and on equipment

* Retained left-over drugs that were to be destroyed after a single use

* Expired drugs

* Expired postpartum balloons used to reduce hemorrhage after abortion

* Lack of appropriate drug-handling policies

* Hiring individuals without performing a mandated search of the Employee Disqualification List

And yet, the ambulances keep coming.

Missouri Right to Life strongly supports HB 1478 and urges the Missouri House and Senate to take up and pass this Women's Health Care Protection Act.