Talk:Abortion facilities

Title

I think the title of the page needs to be changed to "abortion facilities", since a large number of what are commonly thought of as abortion clinics are just the private practices of abortion doctors, and thus not subject to regulation.

I'd like to see some statistics on this. My impression is that most abortions are performed in abortion clinics now. Most physicians do not put patients under general anesthesia, which is required for abortion, in their private practices. But if you have other data about this, I'd like to see it.--Andy Schlafly 16:11, 23 October 2010 (EDT)

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI), which I do not accept as conclusive, "some abortions also go unreported to AGI—primarily office procedures performed by physicians for their own patients—but this number is believed to be very small." (emphasis added)--Andy Schlafly 19:46, 23 October 2010 (EDT)

What the AGI is trying to do is distinguish between abortions performed by doctors on their own patients in practices that don't specialize in abortion, versus "clinics", which is used to distinguish freestanding outpatient facilities that specialize in abortion, even if legally their status is just the doctor's private practice. I don't know that there are any statistics. I just have a plethora of anecdotal data. I can give you a few examples:

Mi Yong Kim called her private practice "Landmark Women's Center". To a layman, it would appear to be a clinic. You can see that she was doing the abortions in what was legally her office, not a clinic, in point 3 of page 3 of this medical board document.

I've found this memo regarding regulation of abortions performed in doctors' offices in Virginia.

This article notes that Kermit Gosnell's office was called "Family Medical Society" and appeared to be a clinic.

This page of the National Abortion Federation web site notes, "Today, about 95% of women who need abortions have them in clinics or in private doctors' offices where costs can be kept low without increasing health risks."

This article about Steve Brigham's escapades notes, "The case has put a spotlight on Maryland's abortion law, which is less restrictive than those in nearby states such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In those states, unlike in Maryland, later abortions must be performed at a surgical center or hospital rather than at a doctor's office."

There is often a lot of legal wrangling by abortionists to keep their facilities from being classified as clinics, because states regulate clinics much more closely. It's a very important distinction and one I think the public needs to be aware of.CDunigan 14:02, 24 October 2010 (EDT)

OK, you make excellent points. I'll move this page to "Abortion facilities." Thanks for providing your information and analysis.--Andy Schlafly 14:32, 24 October 2010 (EDT)