UNFORTUNATE UPDATE: Texas has just (about 3pm on Tuesday) gotten a STAY, so for now clinics in Texas are CLOSED again.
Judges in 2 states (Ohio and Texas) where the Governors or their lackey Attorneys General declared that abortions were not essential services and should immediately stop providing abortions due to Coronavirus restrictions have ruled otherwise.
In the midst of a worldwide catastrophic pandemic, these Republican Governors chose to spend their brainpower(?), energy and resources to punish women by closing abortion clinics using the thinnest of reasoning that clinics were not essential and that they would use too much PPE.
The openings and closings and hours of clinics in each state remain fluid, so individual clinics need to be contacted for their current status.
In Ohio, Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati, said:
But Barrett wrote Monday that decision is up to the woman’s doctor. He also wrote: “The law is well-settled that women possess a fundamental constitutional right of access to abortions.”
“If a healthcare provider determines, on a case-by-case basis, that the surgical procedure is medically indicated and cannot be delayed, based on the timing of pre-viability or other medical conditions, said procedure is deemed legally essential to preserve a woman’s right to constitutionally protected access to abortions,” Barrett wrote in his eight-page ruling.
In Texas, U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel said:
"Regarding a woman's right to a pre-fetal-viability abortion, the Supreme Court has spoken clearly. There can be no outright ban on such a procedure," the decision states.
"This court will not speculate on whether the Supreme Court included a silent 'except-in-a-national-emergency clause' in its previous writings on the issue," writes Yeakel. "Only the Supreme Court may restrict the breadth of its rulings."
In Alabama, the Department of Public Health said:
The only three clinics in Alabama that provide abortion care are considered essential businesses according to the Alabama Department of Public Health and will remain open amid the COVID-19 pandemic, despite efforts in other states to ban abortion procedures.
Meanwhile in Louisiana, a ban is in effect but clinics should be still open:
Louisiana was another state to issue an order over the weekend saying that nonessential medical procedures would be delayed. An anti-abortion group, Louisiana Right to Life, put out a statement on Monday saying that Hope Medical Group, one of the last remaining abortion providers in the state, was closed. But Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents the clinic, denied that. “Our client Hope Medical Group is still open,” Ms. Northup said in a statement.
Also, in Mississippi, a ban by Republican Governor Tate Reeves is in effect but the lone Mississippi clinic is still open:
Reeves said in response to questions Tuesday that the only abortion clinic in Mississippi should follow the state Health Department’s guideline to temporarily stop elective surgeries.
“It is without question that the lone clinic in Jackson does, in fact, operate doing procedures that are elective and not required,” Reeves said. He said if the clinic does not stop, “I would be prepared to try to take additional action,” Reeves said, although he did not specify what that would be.
The Health Department said Thursday that medical facilities must postpone elective procedures to conserve protective medical gear that’s in short supply. During the news conference Tuesday, the state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, said he would review what the abortion clinic is doing before he makes any comments.
The clinic’s owner, Diane Derzis, told The Associated Press on Monday that she considers abortion an essential health care service, not an elective one.
The truth of the matter is that access to abortion is a reproductive health right and and abortion procedures use much less PPE than eventual childbirth will. For an early abortion, almost no PPE is necessary, except for reusable masks to protect the provider. Abortion is a “clean” procedure (there is no incision) and therefore “sterile” techniques do not have to be used, even though instruments are sterilized.
The provision that many states have of totally punitive repeat visits for biased counseling and waiting periods is much more dangerous to the public health than ONE abortion visit.
Additionally, if State governments and the FDA would allow early abortions by pill via telemedicine and allow the clinics to mail the pills directly to women, this would greatly encourage earlier abortions and women be able to remain at home and not take unnecessary risks to travel.
All clinics I know are following precautions and guidelines to keep their staff and patients safe. For instance:
Visitors are not allowed inside the clinic, and instead wait in their cars.
Patients are spaced out both the times of their appointments as well as by distance in the clinic.
Patients are pre-screened for signs of infection and not scheduled if they show symptoms.
Patients have their temperature taken before entering the clinic.
Some states have rallied to support abortion rights by making it clear that abortion services will be protected during this time and are essential services:
On the other hand, in states such as California, Illinois and New York, officials have confirmed abortion as an essential medical service to allow clinics to remain open.
Abortion clinics are responsible healthcare providers and want to continue offering services during this stressful time.
The Republican President, Congress, Governors and other officials can continue their War on Women and spend money and energy on trying to impede abortion, or they can focus on saving lives by dealing responsibly with the greatest medical disaster in modern history. Don’t hold your breath.
Which will they choose?