Fears about dwindling personal protective equipment (PPE) and containing the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has led certain states to suspend abortion services. The Associated Press recently interviewed staffers from abortion businesses that have not halted abortions. These staffers claim that due to distress over economic and health concerns, more women are seeking abortions now than they normally would.
Julie Burkhart oversees several abortion facilities in Wichita, Kansas and Oklahoma City, and according to her, the calls her facilities have received have been “frantic.” She implied that there have been huge uptakes in the amount of procedures being committed due to women’s fears about not having access to abortion. Later in the interview, Burkhart revealed that her Wichita facility — the same one that recently sent a woman to the hospital — committed 252 abortions this past March, up from 90 last year.
However, notes Live Action News’ Carole Novielli, Texas Public Radio stated that Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas had canceled 261 abortions already by March 24th, and a Planned Parenthood spokesperson claimed they had received “583 calls from patients seeking appointments during that same time period.” Amy Hagstrom-Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, also stated that her facilities “had been forced to cancel more than 150 appointments as of [March 25].”
Panic surrounding the virus has caused more women to rely on abortion, says Dr. Jen Villavicenio, a Michigan abortionist. Villavicencio believes women will need abortion more as the pandemic continues. “I hear it in my patient’s voices and questions daily,” Villavicencio said in an email. “They’re worried about how they will make their rent, feed their family, access a ventilator if the need arises.”
In a time when women need medical resources, providers such as Planned Parenthood have suspended all services with the exception of abortion. The need for prenatal care and other forms of support does not seem to be receiving as much attention from abortion advocacy groups. Instead, the focus seems to be on how COVID-19 has pushed more women towards an abortion decision. According to Hope Clinic for Women deputy director Alison Dreith, before the pandemic, the number of women who proceeded with their plan to abort was 50%. As the threat of COVID-19 continues, Dreith claimed that rate is now at 85%.
Dr. Michael J. New, Associate Scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, discussed this piece of information in an email with Live Action News, writing, “It is interesting that [the abortion industry is saying] only 50% of scheduled abortions happen. Pro-life efforts on the sidewalks and at pregnancy help centers might be making a difference.” He added, “If a higher percentage of women are going through with abortions, pro-lifers need to step up our game. We need to pray and sidewalk counsel and encourage others to do the same. Obviously, people should take precautions. It would be a good idea to wear a mask and distance oneself. However, a presence outside the abortion facilities is still necessary.”
To make women “safer” during the pandemic, the abortion industry has increased its push for do-it-yourself abortions. These abortions are fraught with serious risks for women, and many have described their horrific experiences. The complications associated with the abortion pill could potentially send thousands of women to emergency rooms already overburdened by COVID-19.
As pro-choice groups continue to argue that abortion is an essential healthcare procedure, over 30,000 medical professionals have dismissed this idea. Live Action News’ Carole Novielli noted that these medical experts “practice according to the Hippocratic Oath,” and are “from U.S. organizations such as the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), the American College of Pediatricians, Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the Catholic Medical Association, and the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons.” These have all “condemned the move to continue abortion during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Novielli said.
AAPLOG has called the continued practice of elective abortions during an outbreak “medically irresponsible,” and has aptly pointed out that “Elective abortion treats no disease process.”
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