States are passing new abortion clinic regulations *because* of Kermit Gosnell’s atrocities.

This was known already, by the way.

Before we go any further: here’s a section from the grand jury report on the Kermit Gosnell atrocities (“Mrs. Mongar” is Karnamaya Mongar, one of Gosnell’s adult victims).

Investigators found the clinic grossly unsuitable as a surgical facility. The two surgical procedure rooms were filthy and unsanitary – Agent Dougherty described them as resembling “a bad gas station restroom.” Instruments were not sterile. Equipment was rusty and outdated. Oxygen equipment was covered with dust, and had not been inspected. The same corroded suction tubing used for abortions was the only tubing available for oral airways if assistance for breathing was needed. There was no functioning resuscitation or even monitoring equipment, except for a single blood pressure cuff in the recovery room.

Ambulances were summoned to pick up the waiting patients, but (just as on the night Mrs. Mongar died three months earlier), no one, not even Gosnell, knew where the keys were to open the emergency exit. Emergency personnel had to use bolt cutters to remove the lock. They discovered they could not maneuver stretchers through the building’s narrow hallways to reach the patients (just as emergency personnel had been obstructed from reaching Mrs. Mongar).

Now that we’ve established the background: it turns out that a particular faction on the Left – please note the qualifiers – have finally realized that the Kermit Gosnell atrocities are finally making headlines; and it seems that some of them may be feeling stung about the (fully justified) outrage and disgust that has resulted from it. Understandable, if not particularly forgivable; and I think that some of these… people… are going to make the best of a very, very bad hand and try to pretend that they’re the ones who have been concerned about unambiguously murdered and unambiguously babies, all along. In fact, some of them are going to try to bareface this one out and parrot out the talking point So where was the pro-life movement, all these years?

The answer, of course: pro-lifers were in Virginia…

The Virginia Board of Health voted Friday to require clinics that perform abortions to meet strict, hospital-style building codes that operators say could put many of them out of business.

The 11 to 2 vote represented the board’s final say on the matter, which has taken unexpected twists and turns since the General Assembly voted in 2011 to regulate abortion clinics like outpatient surgical centers. The regulations went straight to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R), who quickly certified them. They now go to two state agencies and Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R), who is expected to sign off on them.

…and Pennsylvania…

In 2011, the Gosnell case was mentioned frequently as Pennsylvania’s General Assembly passed a law that put stricter requirements on abortion clinics. Now most clinics in the state are held to the same standards as outpatient surgery centers. That means abortion clinics must have doors and elevators that can accommodate a stretcher in case something goes wrong.

…and Alabama…

The law, which takes effect July 1, also sets tougher building requirements, such as wider halls and better fire suppression equipment.[snip]

Proponents said it also picked up support after Alabama’s oldest licensed abortion clinic, New Woman All Women in Birmingham, closed in May 2012. The operator agreed to shut down after being cited by the state health department for violations, including two patients being given overdoses of drugs and needing to be taken to a hospital.

…and Kansas…

Trust Women attorney Robert Eye said Tuesday that contractors are modifying the clinic to make sure hallways and interior spaces are big enough to comply with the requirements of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He says once the work is completed and the building is inspected and licensed, the clinic would open for services.

…and pretty soon, in Texas:

The bill would require abortions, including those induced by drugs, to be performed in so-called ambulatory surgical centers. The regulations for such facilities include specific sizes for rooms and doorways, and additional infrastructure like pipelines for general anesthesia and large sterilization equipment.

In short: what pro-lifers have been doing since the Gosnell revelations is to go out and make exceedingly certain that the appalling conditions that were found in Gosnell’s abattoir would not be replicated in their states. And, note? – These exceedingly common sense reforms were fought by the same pro-abortion* groups that are now trying to preen for the cameras.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*I’m not going to pretend. Some of these people just like abortion. Not every person, but more than the pro-choicers perhaps want to admit.