Abortion facilities are “vanishing” at an alarming rate, Bloomberg breathlessly reports today, thanks to what they claim is a “push… by Republican state lawmakers… to legislate the industry out of existence”:

Since 2011, at least 162 abortion providers have shut or stopped offering the procedure, while just 21 opened…. The drop-off in providers—more than one every two weeks—occurred in 35 states.

But is it really the fault of Republican lawmakers? Hidden near the middle of the article is a stunning admission…

State regulations that make it too expensive or logistically impossible for facilities to remain in business drove more than a quarter of the closings. Industry consolidation, changing demographics, and declining demand were also behind the drop, along with doctor retirements and crackdowns on unfit providers.

Wait just a minute here – just over one-fourth of the closings were due to “Republican state lawmakers” and their regulations, which were blamed in the first paragraph of the Bloomberg piece?

“Declining demand”? How is this possible, when according to abortion advocates, women need abortion just to survive and live productive lives?

“Crackdowns on unfit providers”? Oh, my, you mean “unfit providers” actually exist? But the media tells us they’re just mythological creatures invented by those waging a ‘war on women’!

Pro-life group Operation Rescue confirms that, indeed, the drop in number of abortion facilities is supported by their own calculations:

Already in 2016, there have been nine abortion facilities that have closed or announced imminent closures….

In a report released on December 22, 2015, Operation Rescue documented that 54 abortion facilities closed or halted all abortion services during that calendar year.

Since 1991, surgical abortion clinic numbers have fallen by 81%.

Today, there are 514 surgical abortion facilities and 213 medication-only abortion centers remaining in the U.S.

Reasons for the closures include:

• The retirement of abortionists due to advanced age and declining health.
• New state laws, which have dramatically increased since 2011, that have flushed out many substandard and dangerous operators.
• Declining demand for abortions.
• Continued strong public pro-life support.
• Public exposure of abortion abuses by pro-life groups, including Operation Rescue, which have rightfully eroded public trust in abortion providers.

And another admission from Bloomberg – this time, about the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood:

Of all the facilities in the nation that closed or stopped performing terminations, about a third were operated by Planned Parenthood; of the ones that opened, three-quarters were.

So a significant majority of abortion centers being closed are providers other than Planned Parenthood – and yet it is Planned Parenthood which is opening 75 percent – the lion’s share – of all new abortion facilities in the country.

Apparently, Planned Parenthood’s $500 million in taxpayer dollars every year is being put to use – to further abortion access! Planned Parenthood Senior Medical Director Deborah Nucatola admitted as much when she told undercover investigators from the Center for Medical Progress:

In most markets [private abortion facilities’] volume’s not going to compare to Planned Parenthood’s volume. We have 40 percent of the market in the whole country.

While Planned Parenthood doesn’t like to market themselves as the nation’s largest abortion provider (why, I wonder?), the numbers make it clear that that’s exactly what they are. And as other, privately-owned abortion facilities close, Planned Parenthood is more than happy to pick up the slack.

Abortion facilities are “vanishing” at an alarming rate, Bloomberg breathlessly reports today, thanks to what they claim is a “push… by Republican state lawmakers… to legislate the industry out of existence”:

Since 2011, at least 162 abortion providers have shut or stopped offering the procedure, while just 21 opened…. The drop-off in providers—more than one every two weeks—occurred in 35 states.

But is it really the fault of Republican lawmakers? Hidden near the middle of the article is a stunning admission…

State regulations that make it too expensive or logistically impossible for facilities to remain in business drove more than a quarter of the closings. Industry consolidation, changing demographics, and declining demand were also behind the drop, along with doctor retirements and crackdowns on unfit providers.

Wait just a minute here – just over one-fourth of the closings were due to “Republican state lawmakers” and their regulations, which were blamed in the first paragraph of the Bloomberg piece?

“Declining demand”? How is this possible, when according to abortion advocates, women need abortion just to survive and live productive lives?

“Crackdowns on unfit providers”? Oh, my, you mean “unfit providers” actually exist? But the media tells us they’re just mythological creatures invented by those waging a ‘war on women’!

Pro-life group Operation Rescue confirms that, indeed, the drop in number of abortion facilities is supported by their own calculations:

Already in 2016, there have been nine abortion facilities that have closed or announced imminent closures….

In a report released on December 22, 2015, Operation Rescue documented that 54 abortion facilities closed or halted all abortion services during that calendar year.

Since 1991, surgical abortion clinic numbers have fallen by 81%.

Today, there are 514 surgical abortion facilities and 213 medication-only abortion centers remaining in the U.S.

Reasons for the closures include:

• The retirement of abortionists due to advanced age and declining health.
• New state laws, which have dramatically increased since 2011, that have flushed out many substandard and dangerous operators.
• Declining demand for abortions.
• Continued strong public pro-life support.
• Public exposure of abortion abuses by pro-life groups, including Operation Rescue, which have rightfully eroded public trust in abortion providers.

And another admission from Bloomberg – this time, about the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood:

Of all the facilities in the nation that closed or stopped performing terminations, about a third were operated by Planned Parenthood; of the ones that opened, three-quarters were.

So a significant majority of abortion centers being closed are providers other than Planned Parenthood – and yet it is Planned Parenthood which is opening 75 percent – the lion’s share – of all new abortion facilities in the country.

Apparently, Planned Parenthood’s $500 million in taxpayer dollars every year is being put to use – to further abortion access! Planned Parenthood Senior Medical Director Deborah Nucatola admitted as much when she told undercover investigators from the Center for Medical Progress:

In most markets [private abortion facilities’] volume’s not going to compare to Planned Parenthood’s volume. We have 40 percent of the market in the whole country.

While Planned Parenthood doesn’t like to market themselves as the nation’s largest abortion provider (why, I wonder?), the numbers make it clear that that’s exactly what they are. And as other, privately-owned abortion facilities close, Planned Parenthood is more than happy to pick up the slack.