Justices play the regulatory power game

After Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell was convicted of murder in 2013, and the horrific conditions in his clinic were exposed to public disgust, several states set out to regulate an industry that was manifestly out of control.

Gosnell’s unsafe practices included the use of unsterilized equipment and the haphazard storage of fetal remains. His clinic padlocked exits and had hallways too narrow to evacuate victims on stretchers. A number of states responded with laws designed to make sure similarly shady clinics could never operate within their borders.