(HARRISBURG, PA – March 29, 2023) The Pennsylvania House Democrats today held a hearing about “expanding access to reproductive healthcare” – but in reality they proposed eliminating critical safety requirements regarding abortions, especially the requirement that abortions be performed by a qualified physician.
This dangerous push to lower the safety and medical standards and requirements for the abortion industry puts Pennsylvania women and girls at risk and takes healthcare in the wrong direction. This is especially so in light of complications from chemical abortions on the rise – as many as 15% of women undergoing chemical abortion suffer hemorrhage and one in 50 will have an infection.
During the hearing, there were several extreme admissions made from advocates of abortion, which shed light on misinformation and true intentions:
Nurse Midwife Katrina Lipinsky testified that: “The medical treatment for abortion is exactly the same as if they were having a miscarriage, but I am not legally allowed to prescribe the exact same medication regimen and take care of them because there’s a heartbeat.”
Here, Katrina, though dismissively, admits the critical difference we all know between a miscarriage and an abortion. An abortion stops a beating heart. In a miscarriage, a baby’s heart has, tragically, already stopped beating.
House Health Committee Chairman Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) started the hearing off by stating: “When a patient has a miscarriage, the medical term for that is spontaneous abortion. When a patient makes the decision to end a pregnancy the term for that is an induced abortion. Any obstetrician can tell you that a patient that experiences an abortion, whether spontaneous or induced, requires the same medical care and treatment. They are indistinguishable, medically.”
“This is absolutely not true,” said Alexis Sneller, Policy Analyst at Pennsylvania Family Institute. Unlike treatment for a miscarriage, chemical abortion requires two drugs: the first pill is to end the developing baby’s life and the second is to expel it. Moreover, this statement is incredibly offensive to all women who have had a miscarriage and lost their precious baby,”
“Elective abortion intentionally and violently kills an unborn child. But care provided after a miscarriage is essential and removes an unborn child who has already died. These two procedures couldn’t be more different,” added Sneller.
Other speakers at the Democrat House Policy Hearing included Dr. Sarah Horvath, Medical Director of Planned Parenthood Keystone (which performs the majority of abortions in Pennsylvania) testified that: “Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures that we provide in the United States.”
A procedure that, if successful, means that an unborn baby must die, can never be considered “safe.” But even when considering the health of the mother, abortions come with a variety of complications. In 2021, there were over 300 reports of complications from abortions that were submitted by physicians; up 35 percent from the previous year.
Rep. Justin Fleming (D-Dauphin) criticized the law regulating abortion clinics according to the same standards as other ambulatory surgical facilities. But his reason did not relate to protecting the health and safety of Pennsylvania’s women, but instead for causing a decline in the number of abortion clinics! What he fails to mention is that several of these abortion clinics closed because they failed health inspections and couldn’t meet basic standards! Incredibly, he goes on to say that because of these health and safety regulations “we have had women die.”
We must never forget that the law requiring abortion clinics to meet health, safety and inspection standards like other health-care facilities (which passed the General Assembly by an overwhelming margin) was drafted in light of the Kermit Gosnell “House of Horrors” abortion clinic scandal. Gosnell was convicted in the death of Karnamaya Monga and others. Mongar died in a botched abortion in Gosnell’s filthy facility – a facility that was allowed to operate for decades largely because of the lack of regulations and standards.
“The women and families of Pennsylvania deserve better,” said Alexis Sneller. “Abortion stops a beating heart, it hurts women, and shows a deep disregard for the sanctity of human life. We will continue to shed light on the abortion industry and work to ensure that every life is valued and protected in Pennsylvania.”
###
Pennsylvania Family Institute is the state’s leading pro-life, pro-family organization; encouraging responsible citizenship and engagement to see Pennsylvania as a place where God is honored, religious freedom flourishes, families thrive and life is cherished.
