By Dave Andrusko

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett

Let me be clear. I’m sure even the most abortion-happy abortion clinic or the most unreflective abortion apologist strongly disapproved of what Kermit Gosnell is alleged to have done at what Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams called a “house of horrors.” Who defends hundreds of viable babies aborted alive and then killed when Gosnell “snipped” their spinal cords? Or the deaths of at least two women (although enough recorded evidence only to prosecute one)? Or Gosnell himself, charged with eight counts of murder?

But read not just the editorials but the tilted news stories about Pennsylvania’ Senate Bill 732 which Gov. Tom Corbett is about to sign into law. Nothing about requiring abortion clinics to be treated like ambulatory surgical facilities has anything to do with what went on Gosnell’s abortion clinic, according to an editorial in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The editorial concedes that Gosnell’s Women’s Medical Society “operated more like a concentration camp than a regular abortion clinic” but that was “due to the depravity of at least some of those who worked there.” The editorial concludes, “There’s no need to make abortion clinics conform to ambulatory surgical facility standards.”

Pardon? There were/are plenty of laws, they just weren’t enforced, we’re told. Two quick thoughts.

First, it’s only commonsense—and a reflection of the long history of indifference that allowed Gosnell to make millions off of poor women–that the level of any proposed heightened enforcement reflects the commitment of the governor and the various local and state agencies that are supposed to inspect abortion clinics. People are aware now. Without structural change—such as Senate Bill 732—how long before enforcement dose off again?

Second, opponents accuse supporters of the bill of exploiting what the Post-Gazette said were “deeds that would shock anyone’s conscience.” Talk about cynical and misdirection.

It required something as horrific as what took place—detailed in a massive Grand Jury report—to shake up a system that was far more concerned about protecting “choice” than doing its job. According to the Grand Jury report

…[t]he Pennsylvania Department of Health abruptly decided, for political reasons, to stop inspecting abortion clinics at all. The politics in question were not anti-abortion, but pro. With the change of administration from Governor Casey to Governor Ridge, officials concluded that inspections would be “putting a barrier up to women” seeking abortions. Even nail salons in Pennsylvania are monitored more closely for client safety. Without regular inspections, providers like Gosnell continue to operate; unlawful and dangerous third-trimester abortions go undetected; and many women, especially poor women, suffer.

Senate Bill 732 OUGHT to be law. And the fact that the usual pro-abortion suspects oppose it is proof-positive.

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