While many states are tightening regulations and oversight of abortion clinics after the revelations of the “house of horrors” conditions in Kermit Gosnell’s abortion clinic in Philadelphia, a Planned Parenthood-promoted bill, AB 980, by Sacramento Assemblyman Richard Pan, a pediatrician, will require the California Department of Public Health to repeal all abortion service regulations in California “not later than July 1, 2014”.
The repeal will occur while another bill, AB 154, passed by Democrat legislators and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, allows non-physician midwives, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform abortions.
This repeal of all abortion regulations will apply even to abortions performed by non-physicians on girls as young as 12 years old, and without notification of a parent.
Catherine Short, legal director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, stated that she was shocked when she realized that AB 980 repealed all of California’s abortion informed consent requirements before an abortion could be performed.
AB 980 was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on October 9, 2013.
The key sentence in AB 980 states:
Section 18944.18 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
(b) The State Department of Public Health shall, no later than July 1, 2014, repeal the regulations relating to abortion services in primary care clinics contained in Article 5 (commencing with Section 75040) of Chapter 7 of Division 5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.”
The Abortion Service regulations to be completely repealed (not amended) by the California State Department of Public Health “not later than July 1, 2014” constitute the entirety of all five sections of the California legal regulations for: Article 5. Abortion Services.
The Article 5 Abortion Service regulations are divided into five sections: General Requirements, Policies and Procedures, Equipment and Supplies, Staff, and Space.
The “General Requirements” to be repealed include informed consent for patients and require “preabortion and postabortion information and education sessions” with specific information.
This includes: (A) How the abortion procedure is performed. (B) Possible risks and complications. (C) Options or alternatives to abortion.
Another regulation to be repealed: “Preabortion informational and educational sessions shall be documented in each patient’s medical record and shall be signed and dated by the person providing this instruction and by the patient.”
Equipment, Staff, and Space regulations to be repealed include requirements for oxygen source and mask, emergency equipment and medications, a licensed physician to perform the abortions and a licensed nurse to be present, and minimum space requirements for the “abortion room”, postabortion recovery area, and counseling area.
All these Abortion Service regulations, which are much less than many states require, must be totally “repealed”, “not later than July 1, 2014”.
The California Abortion Service regulations to be repealed not later than July 1 are:
California Code of Regulations
Title 22. Social Security
Division 5. Licensing and Certification of Health Facilities, Home Health Agencies, Clinics, and Referral Agencies
Chapter 7. Primary Care Clinics
Article 5. Abortion Service
§ 75040. Abortion Service -General Requirements.
(a) Primary care clinics providing abortion services shall provide:
(1) Preabortion and postabortion information and education sessions. These sessions shall include but not be limited to:
(A) How the abortion procedure is performed.
(B) Possible risks and complications.
(C) Options or alternatives to abortion.
(D) Post-procedure medical services.
(E) Family planning information and education.
(2) Laboratory Services.
(b) The physician shall make a gross examination of the aborted specimen and shall refer the specimen to a pathologist if no products of conception are visualized or if the tissue appears abnormal. Products of conception shall be disposed of after examination, in accordance with Section 75069.
(c) Preabortion informational and educational sessions shall be documented in each patient’s medical record and shall be signed and dated by the person providing this instruction and by the patient.
§ 75041. Abortion Service -Policies and Procedures.
(a) The policies and procedures which the clinic shall implement shall include but not be limited to the following subjects:
(1) Medical criteria for selection of patients.
(2) Determination of pregnancy status.
(3) Rh typing.
(4) Information and education sessions for the patient before and after the abortion.
(5) Postabortion care of the patient in the recovery area.
(6) Referral and transfer of the patient to other agencies or programs for additional medical services and counseling beyond the scope of the clinic.
(7) Follow-up of patients after the abortion.
(8) Notice to patients that they must arrange for postabortion transportation.
(9) Provision for family planning information and education.
§ 75042. Abortion Service -Equipment and Supplies.
(a) There shall be adequate and appropriate equipment and supplies maintained to provide the services offered, including at least the following:
(1) Standard gynecological examination table.
(2) Pharyngeal suction equipment.
(3) Oxygen source and mask.
(4) Surgical instruments necessary for the performance of the abortion.
(5) Emergency medications.
(6) Appropriate intravenous fluids.
§ 75043. Abortion Service -Staff.
(a) A physician who is certified or eligible for certification by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology or a physician with training and experience in performing abortions shall be responsible for the abortion service. This physician may also hold the position of professional director of the clinic. Only a physician responsible to the professional director of the clinic may perform abortions.
(b) A licensed nurse shall be present in the clinic when an abortion is performed.
(c) A system ensuring availability of staff for follow-up care or referral of patients shall be operative on a 24-hour basis.
§ 75044. Abortion Service -Space.
(a) Each abortion room shall have a floor area which can accommodate the patient, the equipment and supplies required in Section 75042 and the staff required in Section 75043.
(b) A postabortion recovery area shall be maintained. The area shall be adequate for the number of patients recovering at any given time and shall provide privacy for those patients who request it.
(c) Space for a counseling area shall be maintained and may be the same area as the postabortion recovery area. The counseling area shall provide privacy for those patients who request it.
(d) Provisions for the storage of patient’s clothing and personal items shall be maintained.
May God’s Holy Wrath be unleashed on this satanic state
Historically and sadly, God’s wrath is often the only thing that is ever heeded.
God’s holy wrath has been implemented by the Democrat Party which is in league with Planned Parenthood. The result of his wrath is that this country is dying. It will continue to die as long as we continue to kill God’s children. Thanks also to the bishops of California who refuse to protect these children, spending their time more on food stamp rules, drivers’ licenses and cathedral building. Shame on them!! God’s wrath will strike them – maybe only at the end, but surely.
I don’t understand. Why did God unleash his wrath on the Phillipines with Typhoon Haiyan. It is a predominantly Catholic nation. And, they don’t allow abortions there.
Excellent question, tm17:
The answer, IMO, is that the good do suffer along with the bad. It is only the good, also, that think to repair by way of redemptive suffering for those who would go forth and keep sinning. Or even those, dare I say, who seek to shift Church doctrine in order to facilitate that which is sin.
By your way of reasoning, one could ask, “Why did God visit His wrath upon Christ crucified?” Why indeed?
The culture of the Philippines is not the Catholic nirvana some would like you to believe. Do the research. That being said, I am not necessarily attributing the recent Typhoon in the Philippines to this fact.
Tracy yes I agree
The clever “narrative” used to promote this bill as well as AB 154 was that abortion really isn’t different than other simple procedures performed in primary care clinics. Of course, that’s not true. AB 980 and AB 154 are disgraceful affronts to the women of California, but certainly beneficial to the abortion industry. Now I see that the same narrative is being used in bills just introduced in the U.S. Senate (S. 1696) and House of Representatives (HR 3471), cleverly and deceptively named, the “Women’s Health Protection Act.” These bills would remove essentially all abortion regulations currently in place! Sadly, California has led the way with AB 154 and AB 980. And, the House of Representative bill is authored by a California Representative, Judy Chu (CA-27th District) and co-sponsored by many California Democrats.
I used to be reluctant to go along with the idea, but it seems very real to me now – abortion is the sacrament of the left, the only one they care about. May God have mercy on my native state. I am so happy to no longer live there, with the shame finally and permanently attached to California citizenship.
Elect different people. Insist that the bishops repudiate the Democratic Party politicians they seem to love so much. Take the state back !!! You can do it – if you really want to.
Alas! If our “Catholic” politicians in California were true to their faith, we would not have this discussion.
“Alas! If our “Catholic” politicians in California were true to their faith, we would not have this discussion.”
Yes, Anton L Seidl you are right and to trace back even further had our bishops vigorously upheld and the laity upheld Humana Vitae then we would not be having this discussion. As the Church leadership goes, = (compromises) the world goes.
And how many Catholics were dancing on the head of Gov. Brown’s pen? All of the Hispanic Legislature Catholics, apparently eager to kill more of their progeny.
Dr. Meissner speaks the truth. Racism and anti-Hispanic demagoguery condemned California to its present-day fate. Former Republican Governor Pete Wilson, as do all false-Right politicians, paved the way and opened the doors for Liberal extremism in California. Pushing much-needed Hispanic voters into the Democrat camp greatly contributed to extremists’ take-over of the state. It will now be extremely difficult to drive this corrupt crowd out of Sacramento.
Pete Wilson was a pro abortion Republican, but quite frankly, Dr. Michelle Rios, you are only partially right, not all Hispanics are as pro life as it seems. We are all suffering for our sins, ALL ethnic groups. It is time to pray for a whole lot of conversions, especially from the sins of fornication and adultery that help greatly to contribute to abortion. Purity of thought, word and deed is the answer, the only answer. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” God help us all. I have known women who think nothing at all of stealing another woman’s husband or a man another man’s wife, even though they know they are married, and they think it will not come back to bite them and their children. They are so very, very wrong. What goes around sooner or later comes around. I heard one woman say, “If someone steals your husband, steal one back.” With that kind of thinking, no child would have an intact family. I have tried to follow a strict Old Testament rule most of my married life — no man in my house when my husband is not home, unless he is related and my husband knows about it. There has been a few times when a neighbor has had to come in on an emergency or the police, but the door is always open, and I usually go outside soon. It has kept a whole lot of gossip down and me out of trouble.
A clarification to my last post: I should have written “no man ALONE with me in my house unless related, and my husband knows about it”. That applies to other places too, offices, motels, hotels, etc. Now many priests’s and other counseling rooms have windows build into them, an excellent idea to keep ones reputation.
“good reputation” that is.
WHY DID CALIFORNIA FALL UNDER EXTREMIST DOMINATION?
We can thank Republican Governor Pete Wilson for having handed the State of California over to Liberal extremists. By dividing Conservatives and alienating Hispanic voters, Pete Wilson undermined all the hard outreach work carried out by Cuban-American surgeon and former California Republican State Party Chairman, Dr. Tirso del Junco and others.
They fought to unite the state’s ethnic groups under the Conservative banner. Pete Wilson’s racist anti-Hispanic demagoguery had its price: victory for Liberal extremist Democrats at the polls.
Attacked by Wilson and his politically miopic anti-immigrant ilk, California’s Hispanic voters were pushed into the willing arms of Liberal extremist Democrats. Now the entire nation must endure having one of its politically most important states under the destructive domination of Liberal extremism. All thanks to the English-Only, anti-Hispanic crowd operating within the Republican Party for the political benefit of extremist Democrats.
Only by uniting Conservatives within all ethnic groups will Republicans regain California. This will require showing sincere respect for ethnic diversity and hard, hard work.
The quicker California dies off and fall into the pacific the better off the country will be…. no children…no future….give it back to Mexico….
Well, Dr. Judy, at least we are agreed that Wilson was racist, anti-immigrant and myopic. Although you could use a spelling lesson on that last one.
Prop 187 was voted in by the majority of Californians after millions of people (not just Mexicans) were pouring into California from foreign countries without permission, or were overstaying their visas in violation of Federal Law. The local and Federal government, as well as the Church, did little to halt this foreign occupation. On the contrary they encouraged it and still do! At the same time law abiding citizens were being forced to foot the bill for all of this lawlessness in the form of paying taxes to cover the cost of education, healthcare, incarceration, and so forth for these foreign occupiers. As if this were not enough, citizens were increasingly being told that unless they spoke another language in addition to English, they would no longer qualify for many of the jobs they were otherwise well qualified for. The mass exodus of Californian’s out of this state has been mostly spurned on by financial necessity, not racism.
California use to be a beautiful place to live, now it has largely become a haven for foreign occupiers. One man did not create this situation!
Would anyone know whether a petition drive to repeal AB 154 and AB 980 is being organized? The state has approved an application by Laurette Elsberry of Sacramento to collect the 505,000 signatures by early January to put the laws up for a referendum vote. I emailed Laurette and the California ProLife Council but have yet to receive a response. Some of us in Bakersfield are eager to start collecting signatures as we did with the effort to repeal the ridiculous transgender bathroom law.
Just because there are laws permitting abortion does not mean that women have to have one. No one is forcing anyone to get an abortion, unless they are beaten and dragged into the clinic. To think you have no choice is to give up on yourself and God. Most women freely choose to kill the unborn baby. They put themselves before their child. Yes they may be poor or afraid or unemployed or single, or in college or working at a career, but there is not any reason acceptable before Our Lord.
lisag, how do you explain China? First an evil like abortion is declared a “legal right” (a right to choose), next it becomes an “necessity” (one has no choice), next it becomes and “obligation” (you are irresponsible if you do not choose it) and finally it is out right “forced” on you against your will! (totalitarian rule)
The reasons why these things pass is because our Bishops and our Priests are SILENT. I have heard more about Bishop Soto’s “One” campaign than I have heard about anything from the Catechism.
Teach either the GOSPEL and OR the Catechism and things will get better. Most Catholics today are UNEDUCATED in their Faith.
The People that work at the Diocese of Sacramento are part of the Problem as well. They are too busy building slick websites and having ‘FUN ACTIVITIES’ rather than pushing the teaching of The Holy Catholic Faith. Bishop Soto listens to these people and ends up sounding foolish on Catholic Radio. Life is not about ‘FUN ACTIVITIES’. No disrespect to Bishop Soto but if he were to surround himself with people of Faith rather than people that want to climb the corporate ladder he probably would not have some of the issues that he has.
This is very sad news…..probably a sign that our Bishops have not done enough to have Catholics protest this disgusting liberal California…..may be some were distracted on other issues.
Is there anything that will stop this bogus apostate Catholic Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown to freeze in his tracks and realize that he’s totally doing the work of satan by signing this catastrophic bill to take out ALL abortion restrictions in California? For AB 980 sounds like it was spawned in the bowels of hell. So how about a healthy dose of the consequences of Canon 915 being leveled against Brown PUBLICLY by his (hopefully) non-craven Bishop, whoever that may be. Think it might work on the former seminarian Jerry Brown? The thought of this being passed makes me sick to my stomach as I realize how low this state has sunk into the pit of depravity by this bill and it’s companion, the one which allows midwives, etc., to also slaughter even more preborn humans. I’ll sign any petition to repeal these bills, and hopefully one’s coming as I type this. If not, I think I’ll be done here in this state I’ve lived the majority of my life in. Time to move to maybe Arizona where, as I understand it, Gov. Brewer got her government to totally defund P.P. Sounds like a step in the right direction to me. Yes, it may be time to pull up stakes and hightail it across the border to Arizona where they seem to still have some Godly common sense. GOD BLESS ALL, MARKRITE
markrite : “Is there anything that will stop this bogus apostate Catholic Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown. Apparently not. As they say, the silence of the Bishop(s) is deafening!
It seems ironic that the old argument made by the culture of death crowd that we need to keep abortions from the back alley butchers will now allow anyone to perform abortions anywhere at anytime without concern by the states…..
Abortion is still legal and safe and should be. Most of what is posted here is meant only to stir up fear, distrust among people who might otherwise disagree but could stop short of calling doctors and health care professionals “murderers”, as is often the case.
Those who support the right for women to have an abortion – which is legal – are not any more morally or spiritually deficient than anyone who supports capital punishment or “just war”.
We Americans all, ought to be able to live among each other in peace even while we disagree about everything.