Vote NO on SB 732!

We are writing to ask you to vote NO on Senate Bill 732, a bill that requires freestanding abortion clinics that do abortion procedures over 9 weeks gestation to comply with ambulatory surgical facility regulations (ASF regulations). Over 10,000 women had abortions over 9 weeks in Pennsylvania in 2009, and this bill would reduce access to services for thousands of women in Pennsylvania each year, and especially impact the poor and under-served.

ASF regulations require building changes that would force all of Pennsylvanias freestanding facilities to move and rebuild in order to continue providing abortion care to women over 9 weeks. This could cost freestanding clinics millions of dollars and could take years to comply. None of these building changes would improve the health and safety of women receiving the services instead, it will force safe providers to discontinue offering the service, or force them to close altogether as clinics may not be able to sustain themselves by limiting their services.

95\% of abortions in Pennsylvania are performed in freestanding clinics. Abortion care in hospitals costs thousands of dollars over 10 times the cost in clinics. Women will not be able to afford abortion care in Pennsylvania if these regulations take effect, as the expenses clinics will incur will force them to charge the patient more for services.

Pennsylvanias focus should be on enforcing existing regulations, not forcing safe abortion providers to make building changes that will put them out of business, forcing women to seek cheaper services from illegal providers, providers who are out of state where Pennsylvania cannot regulate, or worse, lead women to no feel they have no choice but to attempt to self-abort. SB 732 will harm women more than it will help!

The anti-abortion movement has made it very clear that one item on their legislative agenda is to push legislation that requires abortion clinics to abide by more restrictive facility regulations in states across the nation. This movement does not care about the health of women, they only care about making abortion illegal.

Please side with public opinion, not the vocal anti-abortion minority, and vote NO on Senate Bill 732!

Sincerely,