African-American Pastor Advisory Board Rejects HB 47
Thursday, March 10th
We are writing to ask you not to cosponsor Rep. Bryon Short's clinic regulation bill (HB 47).
Having done an analysis of the bill, we are certain that this bill would not have prevented the Gosnell horrors in Philadelphia, and it clearly exempts abortion clinics from regulation.
The bill also fails to mandate annual inspections or any specific regulation.
In an official state document, Delaware's Medical Assistance Program categorizes abortion facilities as freestanding surgical centers. The definition of freestanding surgical centers in the code clearly allows abortion clinics to fall into this category.
Rep. B. Short's bill specifically exempts free standing surgical centers from even the weak protections the bill offers.
The bill allows inspections only when triggered by a patient's severe injury or death, or upon a written complaint from a patient filed within 60 days of the event.
A woman who contracts a venereal disease in an unsafe abortion has no recourse to trigger an inspection if the disease is not diagnosed for three months. An employee of an unsafe abortion provider would have no standing to make a complaint under this law.
In addition, the bill is poorly drafted. A legal analysis shows that Section 4 (lines 36 to 40) will cease to exist on July 1, 2011 unless the part of the Code that becomes effective on that date is also amended to reflect the change.
The definition of "patient" is very strange. If an adult goes to a podiatrist to have an invasive treatment, the adult's mother and father become "patients" of the podiatrist.
While we do not believe that Rep. Short deliberately created a bill that exempts abortion clinics, this bill does apparently exempt them.
An effective clinic regulation bill is currently being drafted in the Senate. We ask that you wait for that bill to emerge. Providing safety for Delaware women and girls is too important for us to rely on such a flawed bill.
Sincerely yours,
Rev. Dr. Christopher Bullock, Canaan Baptist Church
Rev. Dr. Clifford Johnson, Shiloh Baptist Church
Rev. Aaron Moore, Manna Christian Fellowship
Bishop Aretha Morton, Tabernacle Full Gospel Baptist Cathedral
Rev. Clarence Pettit, Spirit of Life Lutheran Church
A Rose and a Prayer's African-American Pastors Advisory Board
Ellen Barrosse, President
A Rose and a Prayer
Nicole Theis, Executive Director
Delaware Family Policy Council
Nicole Collins, President
Delaware Right to Life