No event in recent years has given more of a boost to the pro-life movement than the discovery of the charnel house that was the Kermit Gosnell abortuary. The reason that Gosnell was able to get away with so many horrific practices–from keeping aborted fetuses in jars to killing women to filthy conditions to employing unqualified individuals–was because the state of Pennsylvania abdicated its duty to conduct regular inspections, thereby allowing Gosnell to literally get away with murder for years before he was finally caught as a result of an investigation unrelated to his abortion business.
Today, the New York Post reports that the state of New York is as negligent as Pennsylvania:
Well, at least we know which clinics passed inspection, right? Women in New York can therefore make an informed choice about which abortion providers to choose with that information. Actually, they can’t, because the state refuses to name the clinics that have been inspected. The FOIA demand from a pro-life group had that identifying information redacted, because the state was concerned about the safety of clinics, rather than women.
So why is the inspection record of New York state so bad? Apparently it is by design:
Today, the New York Post reports that the state of New York is as negligent as Pennsylvania:
The state Health Department is failing to inspect many of New York’s abortion clinics — with some facilities escaping scrutiny for more than a decade, bombshell documents obtained by The Post reveal.That refusal is laughable, considering that those who threaten abortion clinics typically don’t care what the conditions are, just that abortions are taking place. But what it means, as Ed Morrissey of Hot Air points out, is that women have no idea whether the clinic they go to is safe or clean, or what kind of track record it has:
Health inspectors regulate 25 diagnostic and treatment clinics and surgery centers that provide abortion services — though pro-choice advocates say there are 225 abortion service providers in New York state.
Eight of the 25 clinics were never inspected over the 2000-12 span, five were inspected just once, and eight were inspected only twice or three times — meaning once every four or six years.
A total of just 45 inspections were conducted at all 25 facilities during the 12-year period.
By comparison, city eateries are inspected every year and graded, while a new law requires tanning salons to undergo inspections at least once every other year.
Meanwhile, state officials — citing prior threats and violence against abortion providers — refused to identify the names and locations of the clinics it did inspect.
Well, at least we know which clinics passed inspection, right? Women in New York can therefore make an informed choice about which abortion providers to choose with that information. Actually, they can’t, because the state refuses to name the clinics that have been inspected. The FOIA demand from a pro-life group had that identifying information redacted, because the state was concerned about the safety of clinics, rather than women.
So why is the inspection record of New York state so bad? Apparently it is by design:
“Some facilities are not required to have ‘abortion services’ in their operating certificates in order to perform abortions,” Health Department records-access official Elizabeth Sullivan wrote in a letter, explaining why other abortion providers are not inspected.Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried to ram legislation through the state legislature that would have loosened the health and safety standards that abortion clinics must meet even more, women’s health be damned. Apparently, taking its cue from Chairman Mao, the Cuomo administration has decided to let a thousand Gosnells bloom.
“The Department does not otherwise maintain a list of every Article 28 facility that performs abortions.”
