MO last abortion clinic to close this week

[NewOrleans]

The last remaining abortion clinic in Missouri says it expects to be shut down this week, effectively ending legal abortion in the state.
In a statement to be released later Tuesday, Planned Parenthood said Missouri's health department is "refusing to renew" its annual license to provide abortion in the state. If the license is not renewed by May 31, Missouri would become the first state without a functioning abortion clinic since 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided. You need to read MO’s reasoning.



www.cbsnews.com/news/planned-parenthood-missouri-last-abortion-clinic-says-it-may-lose-its-license-this-week-exclusive-2019-05-28/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=healthfb&utm_content=MO-may19

[wambam]

Forgive me if this is obvious and I'm just being dumb

But it said a third request was out of its control. According to Planned Parenthood, the health department said it was investigating "deficient practices," and needed to interview seven physicians who provide care at the clinic. Planned Parenthood said it could offer interviews only with two who are its employees. The remaining physicians provide services at the facility but aren't employed by Planned Parenthood and have not agreed to be interviewed.

Is the clinic saying they only have 2 employees and therefore can't provide 7 interviews? Or are the other MDs refusing to be interviewed?

[claudiajean]

May 28, 2019 10:54:27 GMT -5 wambam said:

Forgive me if this is obvious and I'm just being dumb

But it said a third request was out of its control. According to Planned Parenthood, the health department said it was investigating "deficient practices," and needed to interview seven physicians who provide care at the clinic. Planned Parenthood said it could offer interviews only with two who are its employees. The remaining physicians provide services at the facility but aren't employed by Planned Parenthood and have not agreed to be interviewed.

Is the clinic saying they only have 2 employees and therefore can't provide 7 interviews? Or are the other MDs refusing to be interviewed?

It reads to me like 2 are employees of PP and the remaining are contracted/given privileges to provide services there.

[isabel]

May 28, 2019 10:54:27 GMT -5 wambam said:

Forgive me if this is obvious and I'm just being dumb

But it said a third request was out of its control. According to Planned Parenthood, the health department said it was investigating "deficient practices," and needed to interview seven physicians who provide care at the clinic. Planned Parenthood said it could offer interviews only with two who are its employees. The remaining physicians provide services at the facility but aren't employed by Planned Parenthood and have not agreed to be interviewed.

Is the clinic saying they only have 2 employees and therefore can't provide 7 interviews? Or are the other MDs refusing to be interviewed?

They only have 2 employees. The others are contract. The contract employees are refusing to be interviewed.

[ESF]

Can I ask a question that might possibly be dumb, but it's something I'm confused about and want to make sure I'm using the right information.

Is there a difference between clinic and other facilities that provide abortion, or are they all the same?

In California, if i wanted an abortion, I could go to a clinic, like PP, or I could go to my OB/GYN at Kaiser and have her perform one (or get some other in-network provider to do it in a doctor's office.


Is that how it works everywhere? Like, when we say clinics are closing, it is still in theory possible to obtain an abortion by going to some other facility where OB/GYNs see patients?

When we say there are no abortion providers in a state, does it mean that not a single OB/GYN will perform an abortion anywhere in the state, or does it mean there's no service that specializes in providing abortions, even though people of means and privilege can still get abortions from their OB/GYN?

I know that in practice, a PP clinic or similar is essential to making abortion actually accessible, since many women don't have health insurance and easy access to an OB/GYN, and that even if they do, PP clinics make abortion more affordable and accessible to those women. I'm just trying to understand exactly what is happening.

[isabel]

ESF , I don't think that's a dumb question. I would make an assumption that there are still providers in the state. That said, I'm not really sure how you go seek that out. Do you have to call individual providers and ask them if they provide abortion services? I literally have no idea if my OB/Gyn provides abortion services.

Even if there are still individual providers in the state, the accessibility and affordability issue is enough of a roadblock that I think the point is effectively moot anyway.

eta: It's just like we've been talking about. If you're wealthy, you can get an abortion. If you're not, then you can't. This will be the case going forward if these laws are upheld, regardless of whether or not Roe is overturned.

[NewOrleans]

This varies by state. Hospitals in most states don’t perform elective abortions. Some only do it up to a certain point. Clinics exist because it is their sole purpose. PP is an exception to that because it has comprehensive reproductive healthcare.

[boiler717]

May 28, 2019 11:11:51 GMT -5 ESF said:

Can I ask a question that might possibly be dumb, but it's something I'm confused about and want to make sure I'm using the right information.

Is there a difference between clinic and other facilities that provide abortion, or are they all the same?

In California, if i wanted an abortion, I could go to a clinic, like PP, or I could go to my OB/GYN at Kaiser and have her perform one (or get some other in-network provider to do it in a doctor's office.


Is that how it works everywhere? Like, when we say clinics are closing, it is still in theory possible to obtain an abortion by going to some other facility where OB/GYNs see patients?

When we say there are no abortion providers in a state, does it mean that not a single OB/GYN will perform an abortion anywhere in the state, or does it mean there's no service that specializes in providing abortions, even though people of means and privilege can still get abortions from their OB/GYN?

I know that in practice, a PP clinic or similar is essential to making abortion actually accessible, since many women don't have health insurance and easy access to an OB/GYN, and that even if they do, PP clinics make abortion more affordable and accessible to those women. I'm just trying to understand exactly what is happening.

Around here so many of the hospitals are Catholic, so I’m sure they don’t allow elective abortions (can’t even get your tubes tied!). I’m sure it would be hard to find an OB to provide even at a regular practice as most don’t have a lot of new patient appts available.

[WOT?*]

I just googled abortion providers in Missouri. Planned Parenthood is the only one that came up as a legitimate. The other two (which came up before PP, btw) are Parkville Women's Clinic (which is obviously a PRC when looking at its website) and Thrive! Women's Healthcare (which, before you click on the website link is listed as "Pregnancy Resource Center"). What infuriates me is that these businesses can openly advertise as "women's health" when their primary objective is to be a resource to eliminate or prevent abortions rather than focus on actual health care, and PP, whose primary objective *is* women's health care, cannot advertise as such because they've been so targeted as an "abortion clinic."

And because of TRAP laws, we don't know what these "deficiencies" actually are? Do they provide unsafe facilities? Is their equipment outdated? Are the employees untrained? Instruments unsterilized?

Or is it because the hallways are too narrow? Doorways not wide enough? Paper towels too far from the sinks? Or any other something mandated particularly for this clinic and no other but is not actually relevant to the practice and procedures but merely as an instrument to close it down because "abortions." Because they're willing to let it stay open for "women's health care" that isn't abortions, just like any other Pregnancy Resource Center.

[WOT?*]

And in further reading, unless the laws were rewritten since 2017, the goal (in targeting PP) ends up not only shutting them down, but any hospital that provides abortion services/performs abortions will have to choose between providing abortion services or losing state Medicaid funding.

www.pbs.org/newshour/health/missouri-hospitals-must-choose-abortions-high-risk-pregnancies-family-planning-funds

Which means, of course, that it disproportionately affects low income women. Abortions for none or no health care for the poor. You decide.

[secretlyevil]

MO went from 10 to 1 clinics in just over 10 years. That’s horrifying.

[shauni27]

ESF, I was wondering the same thing, thank you for asking!

[pugz]

Living in the midwest I thought clinics were the only option.

[CloudBee]

I live in a NYC suburb and I would say most OBGYN offices have small onsite surgical suites for D&C's, etc. That usually happens in your drs office, not the hospital. So I always assumed if someone with insurance wanted an abortion, they would obtain one from their OBGYN. Heck, my old OBGYN had large suction equipment and oxygen for procedures in a regular exam room.

[anodyne]

A little more info not included in the previous article

www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2019/05/28/missouri-is-about-to-lose-its-only-abortion-provider-unless-the-courts-intervene?fbclid=IwAR1k6brCzES4AIO272YGyDyvMFlD9FT7v9kQOzFLItfV3mA5EoTzypad5R4

- The clinic's license is set to expire Friday unless DHSS offers a last-minute renewal. During the call, Wen announced that Planned Parenthood has already filed a lawsuit against the state, seeking a restraining order that would allow the clinic to continue to offer abortion services while a judge determines whether the state is acting legally.


- Helene Krasnoff, vice president of public policy litigation with Planned Parenthood, said that state officials have refused to disclose the scope of their investigation, which she described as "boundless."

During the conference call, Krasnoff said that when Planned Parenthood asked state officials about whether "the interviews could result in a criminal referral or affect medical licenses," the officials responded, "'That's not off the table; we do not have to tell you anything.'"

[downtoearth]

May 28, 2019 11:11:51 GMT -5 ESF said:

Can I ask a question that might possibly be dumb, but it's something I'm confused about and want to make sure I'm using the right information.

Is there a difference between clinic and other facilities that provide abortion, or are they all the same?

In California, if i wanted an abortion, I could go to a clinic, like PP, or I could go to my OB/GYN at Kaiser and have her perform one (or get some other in-network provider to do it in a doctor's office.


Is that how it works everywhere? Like, when we say clinics are closing, it is still in theory possible to obtain an abortion by going to some other facility where OB/GYNs see patients?

When we say there are no abortion providers in a state, does it mean that not a single OB/GYN will perform an abortion anywhere in the state, or does it mean there's no service that specializes in providing abortions, even though people of means and privilege can still get abortions from their OB/GYN?

I know that in practice, a PP clinic or similar is essential to making abortion actually accessible, since many women don't have health insurance and easy access to an OB/GYN, and that even if they do, PP clinics make abortion more affordable and accessible to those women. I'm just trying to understand exactly what is happening.

This varies state-by-state and provider-by-provider. In my state it might mean you can't find a private provider...

When I needed an abortion in my state, I called all four ob/gyn offices in my town, and all said they did not perform elective abortions (basically only do D&C for a missed miscarriage or similar issue, but not elective and most wouldn't even give me a referral - one said to try Planned Parenthood). That left me with planned parenthood and one other clinic (a third one was shut down at the time b/c they weren't allowing RN-midwives to perform abortions and it was being challenged in the courts, but she couldn't perform until that went through) for all 147,000 sq miles of our state. That might be exaggerating, but my only options were waiting to get into PP for 6 weeks in my town (they work in two towns in our state) or driving over 100 miles to a non-profit clinic in another town in 3 weeks or trying to find an ob/gyn within another town that might take a new patient just for an elective abortion. And I had means to pay upfront the $1200 to $1400 it cost (b/c my insurance doesn't cover either).

[picksthemusic]

@ content ahead:

The way it worked for me recently was I became pregnant in early April. I was on the fence about whether or not to keep the pregnancy, so I went so far as to ask my PCP if she would prescribe the medication abortion medications, and she told me they don't, but would refer me out to PP. Same with my OB/Gyn office. They don't do elective abortion care, would refer me to PP.

However, it became clear several weeks later (after deciding to keep my pregnancy) that something was wrong. Went to my OB/Gyn, and it turned out to be an empty sac. What was I prescribed? Medication abortion meds. It had to be a non-elective abortion process in order to get the meds.

I imagine this is how it is for most medical providers.

[mouse]

Isn't MO one of the states that requires any clinic offering abortion (I think including by medication) meet the same building codes as an ambulatory surgical center? An average OB/GYN office wouldn't be set up that way.

[downtoearth]

May 28, 2019 13:28:22 GMT -5 anodyne said:

A little more info not included in the previous article

www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2019/05/28/missouri-is-about-to-lose-its-only-abortion-provider-unless-the-courts-intervene?fbclid=IwAR1k6brCzES4AIO272YGyDyvMFlD9FT7v9kQOzFLItfV3mA5EoTzypad5R4

- The clinic's license is set to expire Friday unless DHSS offers a last-minute renewal. During the call, Wen announced that Planned Parenthood has already filed a lawsuit against the state, seeking a restraining order that would allow the clinic to continue to offer abortion services while a judge determines whether the state is acting legally.


- Helene Krasnoff, vice president of public policy litigation with Planned Parenthood, said that state officials have refused to disclose the scope of their investigation, which she described as "boundless."

During the conference call, Krasnoff said that when Planned Parenthood asked state officials about whether "the interviews could result in a criminal referral or affect medical licenses," the officials responded, "'That's not off the table; we do not have to tell you anything.'"

Can you imagine running a non-profit or business where the "rules" to operate were so vague and constrictive. I can't believe that GOP non-religious people actually agree with that, but then again, it's the religious right who is pushing this and controlling a lot of the GOP, huh?

[ESF]

Thanks for the info everyone, and I'm sorry for those of you who were put in the position of having to deal with the stress of finding a provider on top of everything else.

I understand the war on the clinics, but since so much of the conversation tends to be about Planned Parenthood clinics, we don't hear as much about what's happening in hospitals and more typical doctors' offices. I wonder if that contributes to the perception that there is not a serious threat to abortion rights.

I wonder if there's a correlation between doctor shortages and shitty anti-woman laws. Like maybe OB/GYNs who do care about choice are just not working in states (or regions within states) that are hostile to it, and that's what results in it being harder to get a doctor and an appointment?

[ESF]

May 28, 2019 14:39:18 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

May 28, 2019 13:28:22 GMT -5 anodyne said:

A little more info not included in the previous article

www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2019/05/28/missouri-is-about-to-lose-its-only-abortion-provider-unless-the-courts-intervene?fbclid=IwAR1k6brCzES4AIO272YGyDyvMFlD9FT7v9kQOzFLItfV3mA5EoTzypad5R4

- The clinic's license is set to expire Friday unless DHSS offers a last-minute renewal. During the call, Wen announced that Planned Parenthood has already filed a lawsuit against the state, seeking a restraining order that would allow the clinic to continue to offer abortion services while a judge determines whether the state is acting legally.


- Helene Krasnoff, vice president of public policy litigation with Planned Parenthood, said that state officials have refused to disclose the scope of their investigation, which she described as "boundless."

During the conference call, Krasnoff said that when Planned Parenthood asked state officials about whether "the interviews could result in a criminal referral or affect medical licenses," the officials responded, "'That's not off the table; we do not have to tell you anything.'"

Can you imagine running a non-profit or business where the "rules" to operate were so vague and constrictive. I can't believe that GOP non-religious people actually agree with that, but then again, it's the religious right who is pushing this and controlling a lot of the GOP, huh?

These people truly think there is no real war on abortion rights, and/or that GOP politicians are not actually serious about banning abortion. This is what the conservatives on this board told us after Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan as his running mate.

I also think the so fiscally conservative, socially liberal segment of the population also buy into the propaganda around federal grants to Planned Parenthood. 

[downtoearth]

May 28, 2019 14:59:51 GMT -5 ESF said:

Thanks for the info everyone, and I'm sorry for those of you who were put in the position of having to deal with the stress of finding a provider on top of everything else.

I understand the war on the clinics, but since so much of the conversation tends to be about Planned Parenthood clinics, we don't hear as much about what's happening in hospitals and more typical doctors' offices. I wonder if that contributes to the perception that there is not a serious threat to abortion rights.

I wonder if there's a correlation between doctor shortages and shitty anti-woman laws. Like maybe OB/GYNs who do care about choice are just not working in states (or regions within states) that are hostile to it, and that's what results in it being harder to get a doctor and an appointment?

I want to know more about this too. I looked it up and you can usually find clinics, but not private practice. 

I have never found a private-practice provider, even if they believe in women's rights and choice who perform elective abortions. Only one elaborated that she was pro-choice and would help with a referral to a clinic, but let me know that for her practice they would have to go through additional reporting/regulatory hoops and have different malpractice insurance rates (that are exorbitant), so even she didn't perform elective abortions (pill or surgical). You guys on GBCN made me want to ask - I didn't before living in CO and only did here in MT when I needed one. Those phone calls to private providers when you are pregnant and want an abortion suck - even when you are confident. You feel so judged and emotional and leaving a message for a nurse or doctor to call back about that is demoralizing somehow.

[NewOrleans]

May 28, 2019 14:39:18 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

May 28, 2019 13:28:22 GMT -5 anodyne said:

A little more info not included in the previous article

www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2019/05/28/missouri-is-about-to-lose-its-only-abortion-provider-unless-the-courts-intervene?fbclid=IwAR1k6brCzES4AIO272YGyDyvMFlD9FT7v9kQOzFLItfV3mA5EoTzypad5R4

- The clinic's license is set to expire Friday unless DHSS offers a last-minute renewal. During the call, Wen announced that Planned Parenthood has already filed a lawsuit against the state, seeking a restraining order that would allow the clinic to continue to offer abortion services while a judge determines whether the state is acting legally.


- Helene Krasnoff, vice president of public policy litigation with Planned Parenthood, said that state officials have refused to disclose the scope of their investigation, which she described as "boundless."

During the conference call, Krasnoff said that when Planned Parenthood asked state officials about whether "the interviews could result in a criminal referral or affect medical licenses," the officials responded, "'That's not off the table; we do not have to tell you anything.'"

Can you imagine running a non-profit or business where the "rules" to operate were so vague and constrictive. I can't believe that GOP non-religious people actually agree with that, but then again, it's the religious right who is pushing this and controlling a lot of the GOP, huh?

lol, you’ve seen them in action on this board. They don’t believe it’s happening, don’t believe that the GOP will actually do anything serious because it’s all posturing, and told us we were shrill.

[cattledogkisses]

May 28, 2019 11:35:40 GMT -5 boiler717 said:

May 28, 2019 11:11:51 GMT -5 ESF said:

Can I ask a question that might possibly be dumb, but it's something I'm confused about and want to make sure I'm using the right information.

Is there a difference between clinic and other facilities that provide abortion, or are they all the same?

In California, if i wanted an abortion, I could go to a clinic, like PP, or I could go to my OB/GYN at Kaiser and have her perform one (or get some other in-network provider to do it in a doctor's office.


Is that how it works everywhere? Like, when we say clinics are closing, it is still in theory possible to obtain an abortion by going to some other facility where OB/GYNs see patients?

When we say there are no abortion providers in a state, does it mean that not a single OB/GYN will perform an abortion anywhere in the state, or does it mean there's no service that specializes in providing abortions, even though people of means and privilege can still get abortions from their OB/GYN?

I know that in practice, a PP clinic or similar is essential to making abortion actually accessible, since many women don't have health insurance and easy access to an OB/GYN, and that even if they do, PP clinics make abortion more affordable and accessible to those women. I'm just trying to understand exactly what is happening.

Around here so many of the hospitals are Catholic, so I’m sure they don’t allow elective abortions (can’t even get your tubes tied!). I’m sure it would be hard to find an OB to provide even at a regular practice as most don’t have a lot of new patient appts available.

Having never had a religious-affiliated provider myself I sometimes forget that for many women that's the only option.  I hate that they're allowed to provide substandard medical care to women, but I also assume that if they were forced to provide comprehensive women's healthcare many would choose to close altogether rather than comply. 

I really, really wish we could disentangle religion and healthcare.

[CloudBee]

Here are some stats on my state specifically, pertaining to where abortions are obtained. More than half of the "facilities" providing abortions are NOT clinics. While the article I'm citing does not specifically mention elective abortions, it is implied.

I would assume those other facilities (non-clinics) are OBGYN offices. And the number of abortions happening outside of clinics is rising, as is the number of clinics in my state.

"•There were 59 abortion-providing facilities in Connecticut in 2014, and 25 of those were clinics. These numbers represent a 44% increase since 2011 in overall providers, and a 19% increase in clinics from 2011, when there were 41 abortion providers overall, of which 21 were clinics."

www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/state-facts-about-abortion-connecticut

[WOT?*]

Kamala Harris rolls out proposal that would require states to prove abortion laws were constitutional

www.cnn.com/2019/05/28/politics/kamala-harris-abortion-laws-proposal/index.html

Amid a national debate over abortion rights, Sen. Kamala Harris on Tuesday rolled out a new proposal aimed at stopping some state laws that restrict abortion by preventing them from going into effect in the first place.
Harris pledged that, if elected President, she would create a preclearance requirement for "states and localities with a history of unconstitutionally restricting access to abortion," according to a fact sheet released by her campaign.
Her "Reproductive Rights Act" would shift the burden away from abortion providers who have to file suit against the states to stop new laws; instead, it would require states to prove their laws are constitutional.

***

The preclearance requirement in Harris' abortion policy is similar to the one created in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, known as section 5. The VRA preclearance requirement prohibited nine states and scores of municipalities determined to have a history of discriminatory practices from changing any voting laws without preapproval from the federal government.

[cville]

I'm just so sick and angry.

[WOT?*]

I'm going to keep all anti-abortion articles here so I don't create 900 threads because that's how this administration and all its rats are working right now. In Texas, they are passing a bill that keeps any government from partnering with Planned Parenthood (or any abortion provider but we know how this works.)

www.texastribune.org/2019/05/24/texas-abortion-bill-called-biggest-threat-planned-parenthood-passes/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0j7OxLyR9Af1_Mi-6pgwHU6OnSQcOPtPtkWDnE4lLUv1QHgWzboEewNcE

[fryjack2]

PDQ.

I live in Boston. I had an elective abortion 3 years ago. I went to my OB/GYN, who was amazing during my twin pregnancy that almost killed me. I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant and could not risk my life again. She would not prescribe the pills. She told me to go to PP. A good friend was harassed when we were in our 20s as she entered and exited a PP and I couldn't handle that in my emotional state.

I was given the number to a clinic connected to one of our major hospitals and had the care I needed handled there. Including psych, for which I am eternally grateful for.

Someone I know who went to the same practice was carrying a baby with severe, non compatible with life, defects. She saw the same OB/GYN as I did. She had a D&E performed by our OB.

It seems like they will not do "elective" abortions for fear of protesters, etc. but will do "medically necessary" abortions.

I used quotes because I would describe mine as medically necessary while other people would call it elective.

I know of 3 places that will do them within a 5 mile radius of my home- PP, another stand alone clinic, and the one I went to with an armed guard and bullet proof glass. I am fortunate to live in a major city with a major medical institutions. Everyone should be as fortunate.

[Michelle]

May 28, 2019 14:21:23 GMT -5 mouse said:

Isn't MO one of the states that requires any clinic offering abortion (I think including by medication) meet the same building codes as an ambulatory surgical center? An average OB/GYN office wouldn't be set up that way.

I know a texas did that. I didn’t hear that MO did that too.