The Kentucky Senate voted 32-5 on Wednesday to approve a bill (SB 212) that would impose new regulations on abortion providers and clinics, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. The bill now moves to the state House.
Background
According to the Courier-Journal, the bill is one of several antiabortion-rights measures approved by the Senate during the current legislative session (Yetter, Louisville Courier-Journal, 3/9).
One of the other measures is a mandatory counseling bill (SB 4), which has been signed into law. The state House is considering two other bills: a mandatory ultrasound measure (SB 152) and a measure (SB 7) that targets funding for health care providers who offer abortion care.
Bill Details
Under SB 212, abortion clinics would have to meet the same building standards as ambulatory surgical centers. In addition, clinics would be required to receive a certificate of need from state regulators. If enacted, the bill would affect clinics licensed after July 1.
The measure also would require abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
A spokesperson with EMW, the only independent abortion provider in the state, said the proposed regulations would not shut down EMW's Louisville clinic, which already meets the ambulatory surgical center requirements. It is unclear how it would affect EMW's Lexington clinic. The measure might also affect a Planned Parenthood clinic in Louisville, which is seeking licensure (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/4).
Comments
Opponents of the bill noted that bills such as SB 212 are merely an attempt to undermine abortion access by forcing clinics that cannot meet these medically unnecessary additional requirements to shut their doors.
State Sen. Reginald Thomas (D), who voted against the bill, said the measure would make it more difficult to access reproductive care, including abortion care.
"I would submit that if you are a young woman in Kentucky of childbearing age, this is going to be a rough session," Thomas said (Louisville Courier-Journal, 3/9).
