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Pro-Life Laws Shut Down South Carolina Abortion Facility
by Associated Press
Greenville, SC July 26, 2002 -- Despite years of protests, one of
Greenville's
abortion facilities remained open. However, the cost
of newly imposed state regulations passed by pro-life
lawmakers finally drove the Palmetto State Medical Center
abortion facility out of business, said attorney Randall
S. Hiller, who represents the abortion business' owner,
William Lynn.
"The unnecessary costs added by these regulations were
financially impossible," Hiller said.
The closure leaves three abortion businesses in the state
- the Greenville Women's Clinic, Planned Parenthood of
South Carolina in Columbia, and the Charleston Women's
Medical Clinic, said Chris Jueschke, chief
executive officer of the state's Planned Parenthood.
Abortion advocates said the closing was a regrettable loss
while pro-life advocates called it a victory.
"We're obviously sad that Dr. Lynn is leaving because he
served Greenville since 1986," said Candy Kern,
coordinator for the Greenville chapter of the pro-abortion
National Organization for Women.
"It has given women two choices for abortion services in
Greenville services," she said. "But women in Greenville
will still need services, and those services will be
filled by other clinics in Greenville, Charlotte or
Atlanta."
Lisa Van Riper, president of South Carolina Citizens for
Life, said abortions in South Carolina have declined by 47
percent in the past 10 years.
"The closing of this abortion clinic is a continuation of
that trend," she said. That decline is due to a growing
concern "for prenatal life" and increasing alternatives,
including adoption, she said.
Abortion advocates say women will now head to surrounding
states for abortions.
"We do know already that a significant number of women
from South Carolina go out of state for abortion
services," Jueschke said. Statewide, he said, the number
of abortions dropped 16.6 percent between 1997 and 1999
from 9,212 to 7,687.
Nationally, the number of abortions dropped from 1.6
million in 1990 to 1.3 million in 1997, according to the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
potentially disproving the pro-abortion argument that
abortions just move from one state to another.
The Greenville abortion facility had a history of legal
disputes that began when Lynn and other abortion
practitioners sued the state over a 1995 decision by the
state legislature to change the way abortion businesses
are regulated.
The state Department of Health and Environmental Control
subsequently issued a 27-page book of regulations that
required clinics to meet standards ranging from door
widths to the number of recovery rooms.
A federal judge ruled that the common sense regulations
imposed an undue burden on a woman's "right" to abortion
by loading down providers with unnecessary requirements.
In August 2000, that decision was overturned by the 4th
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last September, a federal judge found that the law
violated "privacy rights" because it gave the state access
to patients' records in reviewing medical services,
according to pro-abortion The Center for Reproductive Law
and Policy. But pro-life state Attorney General Charlie
Condon appealed that ruling. Lawyers for abortion
providers want the 4th Circuit to rule that provision of
the law unconstitutional.
From: The Pro-Life Infonet <infonet@prolifeinfo.org>
Reply-To: Steven Ertelt <infonet@prolifeinfo.org>
Subject: Pro-Life Laws Shut Down South Carolina Abortion
Facility
Source: Associated Press; July 21, 2002
http://www.hli.org/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/002/096trfxc.asp |
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