Missouri Right to Life Press Release
For Immediate Release
May 15, 2014
For Information
573-635-5110
314-966-3889
The following statement can be attributed to Pam Fichter, President of Missouri Right to Life:
Yesterday, the Missouri House passed HCS SB 660. This bill, in addition to establishing priorities for the budget, will also place in statute requirements for one annual on-site inspection and lead to more accountability for abortion clinics. It will establish statutory requirements rather than relying solely on regulations for oversight of abortion clinics and will be less subject to the agenda of a particular agency or political party. Even though there are regulatory requirements for clinic inspections, the most recent report on Planned Parenthood shows that these aren’t being enforced.
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
With these types of violations and the apparent medical emergencies that have taken place at the Planned Parenthood in St Louis, one safety inspection per year is the bare minimum necessary to promote safety for the women turning to this facility.
We call upon the Missouri Senate to take up and pass HCS SB 660 to provide oversight of abortion facilities and provide safety for all Missouri women.