The case of Kermit Gosnell and his unregulated, deadly abortion clinic was particularly horrifying, but it wasn't unforeseeable, according to Slate's William Saletan. I linked to columns Saletan wrote on the Gosnell case here and here. This week he's been working on a multi-part series, The Back Alley: How the Politics of Abortion Protects Bad Clinics. Saletan reports on earlier cases of unregulated clinics endangering women, and the fumbling by government to do something in response. Deep suspicion and mistrust on both sides of the political battle makes legislation that would ensure better regulation almost impossible, and keeps the "safe" part of the "safe, legal and rare" slogan continually out of reach. Saletan's reporting is sobering and thorough, and worth checking out. (It's also a little overwhelming, but I think today's Part 8 is the last!) P.S. The good news from Pennsylvania, via Saletan:

The state's oversight of Gosnell was awful. But last year, embarrassed by his exposure, officials inspected Pennsylvania's other 22 clinics and found only minor deficiencies. Prodded by the grand jury report, the state's new governor, Tom Corbett, is moving to fix the system. Last week he fired several state officials faulted by the grand jury, and he imposed new rules similar to the ones defeated in Florida. Abortion clinics will be inspected every year, and the two agencies that monitor doctors and clinics will be networked.

Mollie Wilson O’​Reilly is editor-at-large and columnist at Commonweal.

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