Planned Parenthood  in San Antonio: New Abortion Capitol of South Texas

by Phil Sevilla

Two news items which appeared in the local paper over the past few days regarding the status of the new Texas state regulations on abortion caught my eye. It triggered for me a “walk down memory lane” recalling the events in Austin last year.

In the summer of 2013,  the Texas state capitol became the epicenter of the national abortion battle  that has divided Americans over the past forty years. Large crowds of pro-lifers and abortion advocates descended on the state capitol to “strongly” express their support or disdain for the omnibus pro-life bill titled House Bill 2 (HB2). The bill was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry in July of  2013.

The new  regulations of the omnibus bill required the following procedures to be put in place by October 29, 2013:

• Abortionists must secure admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion clinic.
• Implementation of the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” which bans abortions of unborn children after 20 weeks
• Dispensing abortion-inducing drugs like RU-486 must conform to FDA protocols. Effective January 1st, 2014, the Texas Health and Safety Code would be amended to require all abortion facilities to be ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) and all abortion facilities required to be in compliance by September 1st, 2014.

What’s happened since the law was passed? As expected Planned Parenthood and other heavily invested abortion providers like Whole Woman’s Health who have multiple facilities around the state sued.

Planned Parenthood challenged the new HB2-based restrictions on abortion last October but failed to derail the new law. Also last October, U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel ruled against the new regulations requiring that abortionists’ secure hospital admitting privileges and carved out exceptions for the RU-486 abortifacient drug requirements. The U.S. Court of Appeals panel for the 5th District which heard the appeal from the Attorney General’s office unanimously upheld the new state law.

Last Friday the same U.S. District Court Judge, Lee Yeakel, ruled that requiring the abortion facilities to upgrade to the standard of ambulatory surgical centers and abortionists’ securing hospital admitting privileges are unconstitutional, “placing an unconstitutional undue burden on women”.

Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office quickly submitted a motion with the New-Orleans based Appeals Court, one of the most conservative federal appeals courts, to allow full enforcement of the new regulations scheduled to be in force effective September 1st.

Please pray for a positive decision from the federal appeals court which is expected within two weeks to allow the new Texas law to take effect.

Planned Parenthood South Texas is planning to make San Antonio the abortion capitol of South Texas. President and Chairman Jeffrey Hon is raising $5 million to open a major abortion center in San Antonio, compliant with the new Texas Health Code ASC regulations, to be the central abortion hub for South Texas. This abortion facility will either be constructed on a new site or an existing medical facility purchased. If you have any information about the location of the new Planned Parenthood South Texas abortion center, please contact me:

info@texasleaders.org