Benjamin Lanka writes about Allen County becoming the latest front in the War on Abortion.
Commissioner Nelson Peters said a bill would be introduced Friday that would require all surgeons and doctors who provide outpatient invasive procedures to have ties to a local hospital and have on-call, after-hours staff to handle emergencies.
This is the same stunt they pulled in Vanderburgh County; at least this time it’s not under the cover of darkness. Neither county is being very responsible with taxpayer money. As the doctor interviewed in the article said, the county very well may not have jurisdiction to pass or enforce the law. Recall that county Certificate of Need programs, purporting to prohibit construction of medical facilities have been struck down because county authority is pre-empted by the state. The law generally has been that regulation of local health care is in the hands of the Indiana State Department of Health. Unless the Allen County Commissioners have a firm basis for believing that this is a special case for which they have jurisdiction, then they’re just wasting taxpayer money by adopting this law.
Thanks for continuing to follow this… I watching for it to crop up in other places in Southern Indiana. I don’t think they’re ready for a full frontal assault on Monroe County yet, but it just adds a little more urgency to our Commissioner races here.