|
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. John Myers |
|
Myers requests meeting with Corbett to discuss women's health
HARRISBURG, Sept. 30 – State Rep. John Myers, D-Phila., has requested a meeting with Gov. Tom Corbett to discuss alternative proposals to legislation (S.B. 732) Myers says would create a major health crisis for women if enacted.
Senate Bill 732 would apply ambulatory surgical facility regulations to health centers that provide abortion services. It could see action in the House next week, possibly as early as Monday.
Myers, the Democratic Chairman of the House Health Committee, told Corbett in a letter that he fears the legislation would create a crisis for women who rely on facilities that provide abortions and a wide array of other gynecological services.
"There is compelling evidence that shows that applying the ambulatory surgical facility standards to health centers that provide abortion services will lead to their closure because the cost of compliance is extremely prohibitive for these providers," Myers told Corbett.
According to the state Department of Heath, there were approximately 38,000 abortions performed in Pennsylvania last year. But, Myers said, thousands more women relied on these facilities for other routine women's health services, such as cervical cancer screening.
"Senate Bill 732 as law would not only infringe on a woman's ability to access safe and legal abortions, it could force thousands of women to forgo annual pap tests, cervical cancer screenings, breast exams and other gynecological services if facilities have no choice but to close," Myers said. "This would result in a major health-care crisis for women across the state."
Myers told Corbett that the original version of S.B. 732, before being amended in the Senate, offered meaningful reforms that would better protect women's health. He also noted that the Department of Health has made positive procedural changes recently governing the operation and inspection of health centers that provide abortion services.
"I have no doubt that you can help find a compromise that will not infringe on women's ability to access a safe and legal abortion in Pennsylvania," wrote Myers. "I would be pleased to work with you and your staff on this issue."
Myers said he hopes his communication with Corbett reminds the governor and others about the illicit abortion market that existed prior to the legalization and regulation of abortions.
###