June 28, 2013 4:59 PM

GREENFIELD: IF SB5 IS ABOUT WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE AND ABORTION-LET'S AT LEAST GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT

CDC reports 784K abortions in 2009 with 12 deaths from complications; 1.53 deaths per 100,000 abortions

Not having much to do last Tuesday, my classes don’t start ‘til July 8, I turned on my iPad to listen to Senator Davis’s (D-Fort Worth) filibuster of SB 5, “relating to the regulation of abortion procedures, providers, and facilities; providing penalties.”

The House Research Organization bill analysis indicates that SB 5 would impose both conditions on abortion providers and limit the allowable time for an abortion to be performed. The condition, which Lt. Governor Dewhurst claimed would close all but 5 of the abortion clinics was that all abortion clinics must attain ambulatory surgical center status. Supporters of the bill claimed this condition would be “elevating the quality of health care for women.” During the filibuster Senator Deuell (R-Greenville), a family physician suggested to Senator Wendy Davis, an attorney, that the intent of SB 5 was to improve the delivery of abortion services by imposing additional conditions on abortion clinics.
The rest of Greenfield's column can be found in today's R&D Department.

By Stuart Greenfield, Ph.D