Corbett Fires 6 State Workers Over Clinic Controversy

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett is making 18 changes to Health and State Department policies, in response to an investigation of why state inspectors ignored warning signs about a Philadelphia abortion clinic where a doctor allegedly killed live babies.

The governor calls Health and State Department regulators’ failure to follow up on complaints about Kermit Gosnell’s clinic “despicable.”
The Administration has fired six state workers, and action is pending against eight others.

"People died because people did not a) follow the law, and agencies of government did not do their job and inspect to protect those individuals."

"We boiled it down to this: people need to do their jobs. It’s not enough to prosecute the wrong-doing. We need to change the culture. That starts here. That starts now."

Corbett’s new policies will require annual inspections of abortion clinics, and the public posting of the reports on the Department of Health website.
Regulators will need to review complaints of serious events at any clinic within 48 hours of an initial report, and then visit the facility on-site within five business days.
Corbett is also ordering the Health and State Departments to share information with each other on a monthly basis, and work toward conducting joint investigations of facilities.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams says he applauds Corbett’s actions.