Ending abortion in your TX city.

Now that the United State Supreme Court has refused to overturn the new Texas legislation we can begin turning our focus to an achilles heel of the abortion industry in Texas: admitting privileges at local hospitals. In order for an abortionist to legally perform abortions he or she must have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortuary. This means that a local hospital must endorse the doctor in order for them to legally continue their grisly work. Here are a few steps to consider for your local community: 1. Locate the names of the doctors performing abortions in your community. Generally your local pro life group will know their names (e.g., Houston Coalition for Life, Catholic Pro Life Committee in Dallas, etc.)

2. Visit the Texas Medical Board, click on the TMB Public verification link, then click on the accept usage and terms icon, enter in the name of the doctor, and then the website should list which hospital(s) provide admitting privileges for that abortion doctor. Here is the website: http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/consumers/verification/verification.php 3. After you have located the hospital providing admitting privileges the next step is to locate the name of the CEO and board members of the hospital by doing a quick google search. The hospital website will normally provide this information. You can then write a cordial (non-threatening) letter to the CEO and board members informing them that an abortion doctor has admitting privileges at their hospital which allows him or her to steal the lives of innocent babies and ask what measures (if any) are being taken to remedy the problem. Note: a hand written letter or typed letter sent through the United States postal service will probably be taken more seriously. 4. In a couple of weeks call the CEO directly and determine whether any action is being taken. In some cases the CEO and board members will be unaware that a doctor with admitting privileges is an abortionist so do not assume they're complicit until they've been given time to take action. 5. If no action is being taken arrange for a peaceful prayerful vigil outside of the hospital. You will want to determine which sidewalks are public and you will want to inform the CEO of your plans to hold a prayer vigil outside of their hospital. This could also be a coordinated effort for the spring 40 Days for Life. Graphic images are highly controversial but this could be an appropriate location to hold graphic images if the hospital refuses to take action. This isn't a silver bullet since doctors lacking admitting privileges could choose to violate the law. You should familiarize yourself with the wording of the new rules changes which are located here: http://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB2/id/870667

After reading the legislation I had two questions: 1. Who is enforcing the rules? 2. What is the punishment for violating the new rules? Answer: The Texas Department of Health... and a violation is a misdemeanor offense punishable by fine up to $10,000. The new legislation is being added to the Texas Health and Safety code section 171 which is located here: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/HS/htm/HS.171.htm Here is the relevant punishment section, "Sec. 171.018. OFFENSE. A physician who intentionally performs an abortion on a woman in violation of this subchapter commits an offense. An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $10,000. In this section, "intentionally" has the meaning assigned by Section 6.03(a), Penal Code." The physician may argue that another section applies which is a $4,000 fine. Once you've determined that a doctor without admitting privileges has violated the law (e.g., video interview of women who have had abortions, hidden video of doctor agreeing to perform abortion) you will want to report the doctor to the proper authorities. Here are the steps to report the offending physician. 1. File a complaint with the Texas Department of Health. The relevant complaint forms and instructions can be downloaded by clicking here. Note: In some cases post-abortive mothers will want to file a formal complaint against the doctor. 2. File a complaint directly with the Texas Medical Board. Here is a link to a website with the appropriate steps: http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/consumers/complain/placecomp.php 3. Notify the Texas Attorney General of the violation by filing a complaint online: https://www.oag.state.tx.us/forms/cpd/form.php The U.S. Court of Appeals will be hearing the case in January and it's very likely that the case will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. We should all pray that God's will be done! -Steve Steven Lopez Spiritus Films cell: 832.882.3825 www.spiritusfilms.com