Life Links 7/19/13

Sharon Griggs, the editor of the Dallas News, writes about how her position on abortion has changed over the years and how she didn’t find HB2 in Texas to be unreasonable.

Fast forward to House Bill 2, the sweeping and controversial abortion regulations bill. While my thinking hasn’t moved to the place that I’m ready to lead a board revolt to change our pro-choice stand and call for the overturn of Roe v. Wade, neither do I think the provisions of House Bill 2 are unreasonable.

When our board debated the restrictions in this bill, I couldn’t really find a lot of fault in the rules. I certainly think the 20-week limit is reasonable. And I don’t think the surgical center rules — even being able to get a gurney through the door — are unreasonable. I recognize that almost never does something go wrong in an abortion procedure, but it can. The “admitting privileges” at a nearby hospital is troublesome, but not so much that I think it was cause to oppose the bill.

In Indiana, a woman named Purvi Patel has been charged with felony neglect of a dependent after putting her premature newborn child into a dumpster. 

The affidavit alleges Patel took drugs she ordered from Hong Kong to induce an abortion, but gave birth to a live baby that a forensic pathologist determined was born at least 7 months from conception.......

Last Saturday, hospital staff called police when Patel went to an emergency room bleeding, with the umbilical cord still protruding, but had no baby with her.

Patel told doctors she had never been pregnant but later told them she miscarried and put the body in the Dumpster behind the Mishawaka restaurant that she manages.

The affidavit says a forensic pathologist concluded the infant could have survived outside of the womb and did take a breath after it was born.

RHReality Check’s Robin Marty repeatedly describes the dead newborn child in the case as a “fetus.”


Abortionist James Pendergraft has reopened his Orlando clinic which closed after debt collectors removed equipment.