The U.S. Supreme Court gave opponents of abortion a big shot in the arm in February when it refused to hear a challenge to abortion regulations in South Carolina. The Supreme Court’s decision will almost certainly open the floodgates of regulation directed at abortion providers.
Conservative opponents around the country have taken up a technique pioneered by liberal politicians — if you can’t outright ban something, simply regulate it to death. In the case that the Supreme Court refused to consider, a federal appeals court upheld South Carolina’s 27 pages worth of abortion regulations.
According to Reuters,
Among the many items covered by the regulation were airflow and temperature standards, hallway and doorway widths, making registered nurses assist in abortions, and requiring tests for sexually transmitted diseases.
The regulations also required that bathrooms be installed with alarm systems and that clinics give state inspectors access to patients’ medical records.
An article on WomensNet claims that South Carolina’s regulations could raise the cost of an abortion by as much as $368. Such regulations are currently pending in Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Feminists will soon likely see their alliance with big government liberals rewarded by seeing onerous regulations drive abortion providers out of business.
Sources:
Justices reject abortion clinic rules appeal. Reuters, February 26, 2001.
Anti-choice tactics threaten abortion access. WomensNet, March 8, 2001.