IL cracks down on abortion clinics

An increased scrutiny of Illinois abortion clinics in the wake of revelations about a "house of horrors" in Philadelphia revealed that some facilities had gone up to 15 years without inspections, and two now have closed after regulators found health and safety violations. The renewed oversight by state regulators led to the permanent closure of a clinic in Rockford earlier this month, following the closing of a clinic in suburban Chicago last October, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request.

One of those facilities — the Women's Aid Clinic in Lincolnwood — closed when the owner decided to surrender its license rather than pay a $36,000 fine or endure an expensive legal fight with the state. The fine was for violations including the clinic's failure to perform CPR on a patient who died after a procedure. Its owner told the AP her clinic was safe and she felt victimized by the surprise inspection after 15 years.

While Illinois is working on the backlog of neglected inspections, the documents reviewed by the AP show that a few abortion clinics in the state still haven't been checked in more than a decade. One in Chicago hasn't been inspected in 16 years. Another in the suburb of Wood Dale was last inspected nearly 15 years ago.

State officials attribute the lag to a lack of funds and resources, noting that the state's 24 trained health inspectors are responsible for inspecting nearly 2,000 facilities.

. . . In 2011, Illinois inspectors visited all nine licensed abortion clinics that are defined as pregnancy termination centers, a category that limits them to first-trimester abortions and no other procedures. . . . The inspection sweep of the nine clinics didn't include other centers that perform more services than first-trimester abortions and are classified as ambulatory surgery centers. Anti-abortion groups said there are four such centers. . . . Illinois law doesn't specify how frequently either type of abortion clinic must be inspected. Both kinds must renew their licenses annually, but no inspection is required with that. . . . A third type of health facility providing abortions isn't licensed or inspected in Illinois. These clinics are considered to be similar to doctors' offices, which aren't licensed by the state, and the majority of their services aren't surgical procedures. Planned Parenthood clinics fall into this category.

. . . Sharon Levin, vice president of the National Abortion Federation, a standard-setting body for providers, said the Philadelphia case is unusual and shouldn't be used as a basis for a crackdown. State regulators should inspect abortion clinics as often as they do other similar medical facilities, Levin said, but 15 years between inspections is excessive. "We have clinical policy guidelines and we regularly inspect our members ..." she said, "but we would consider 15 years too long." ABC News/AP