Abortion after 20 weeks has been banned in Texas and abortions before 20 weeks of gestation will now be held in clinics that must adhere to the same standards as hospital-style surgical centers. Medical practitioners like me, who have been well aware of the stunning lack of regulation of abortion clinics that practice late term abortions (highlighted in the case of the abortionist Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia) are quite pleased.
With all of this talk about women not having access to abortion, no one brings up something that the pro-abortion lobby was ecstatic about: Plan B now can legally be sold to women and girls without a prescription, and is available at every corner pharmacy – including in Texas.
It is only logical that all surgical procedures be held to the same standards of patient care, of course. Or at least it is logical to doctors and other health providers. There are those, however, who see any attempt to regulate abortions as other surgical procedures are regulated as a limitation on “access,” and therefore a “war on women.” They are right in saying it will result in the shutting down of clinics. The reason many clinics are run so shoddily and dangerously is because doing so is cheap, and maximizes profit. Getting them up to the standards of the rest of the medical community will be costly, and cut into profit. Abortion is just another business in the U.S., and is run to maximize profit, as attested by the robust bottom line of the abortion giant, Planned Parenthood.
Southern Texas boasts only two abortion clinics, which may or may not wish to spend money on patient safety upgrades. Horror stories tell of women who may have to travel up to four hours to San Antonio for their abortions. Hysteria over lack of “access” colors a lot of this conjecture. There has even been some speculation that women in Texas will “be forced” to turn to a dangerous abortifacient drug that is used a lot in Mexico and Brazil: Misoprostol.
Misoprostol cannot legally be used as an abortifacient in the U.S because it is dangerous even when used properly. However, it is cheap and works most of the time, in the first trimester. It would be a shame if more women used this drug. In fact, this drug is used most in the U.S. by Latino immigrants in New York City where abortions can be had throughout gestation, fairly safely, and very cheaply. Women choose to use it because it is easier to pop a pill than visit a clinic and have a procedure, not for lack of “access.”
With all of this talk about women not having access to abortion, no one brings up something that the pro-abortion lobby was ecstatic about: Plan B now can legally be sold to women and girls without a prescription, and is available at every corner pharmacy – including in Texas. A quick morning after pill can be obtained any day by any man and given to his underage girlfriend, no problem. He can do this several times a month if need be. These days if a girl needs a surgical abortion and has to drive an hour, she passed up some easier solutions (abstinence, contraception, Plan B).
Women will find a way to abort their babies. This is true and getting truer. In a culture where women must be sexually available to be attractive, and where men feel little or no responsibility when that sex results in pregnancy, women are left with some difficult choices. Some say the answer is to make access to abortion ever greater. The real answer is more complicated and more beautiful. It’s the promotion of a culture that links sex to marriage and children, where a woman is truly valued. And where children, especially Latino children, who are disproportionately eliminated by abortion, can be welcomed and cherished.
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