Planned Parenthood of Kansas and mid-Missouri brought forth a lawsuit Monday to retain its ambulatory surgical center (ASC) license, arguing that it was treated unfairly for its role as an abortion provider.
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Forget the videos which have been effective tools in this fight, now pro-lifers cannot even say what abortion is.
Friday’s attack on the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs by anti-choice extremist Robert Dear, which left three people – all parents – dead, was not the first mass shooting to occur in the country that day.
Abortion is and always will be a topic worthy of debate and activism by both opponents and supporters.
A federal judge’s ruling Wednesday allows Planned Parenthood in Columbia to keep its license to perform abortions, at least for now. So do candidates who claim, as Republican hopeful Carly Fiorina did, to have seen gruesome videotaped scenes that don’t exist.
“She basically tried to justify the violence against (abortion) providers and Planned Parenthood, and there is no justification”, said Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation, which represents about 400 abortion providers. The group has also documented four arson attempts at clinics.
It is time to stop the witch hunt against Planned Parenthood, stop the demonizing rhetoric and disband this committee immediately. The Republican Senate Leader questions whether the federal court has jurisdiction to consider the matter. “Whether in the United States or with friends and allies like France”.
“It means protecting women’s health and protecting women’s rights and standing up for Planned Parenthood”, she said.
Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the clinic’s physician, lost her admitting privileges with the University of Missouri Health Care system after university officials-pressed by GOP legislators-voted to discontinue her “refer and follow” privileges.
Usually however, there is a certain amount of time granted to ASCs to have their licenses continue or be put in a suspended state while they look to fulfill the requirements again. State law requires the doctor performing abortions to have privileges at a hospital within a 15-minute drive of the abortion clinic. Slowly but surely, Planned Parenthood clinics reopened around the country, not only as a message to their detractors, but also as a commitment to their patients.
The next hearing is scheduled for December 29.
However, women and gender studies junior Grecia Magdaleno said it’s still crucial to support Planned Parenthood.
While Obama’s comments regarding gun control are certainly logical and a necessary call to action, they are a small part of a solution regarding a much deeper issue.
“Unfortunately, there is a lot of extremism coming from all areas”, he said. The Douglas County GOP has apparently retweeted an opinion piece headlined “Abortionists and Planned Parenthood Shooter Are Just Two Sides of the Same Coin”.
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For abortion opponents, that is the point.
