Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has ordered abortion clinics to stop performing surgical abortions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health issued an executive order Tuesday that required health providers to cancel all non-essential or elective surgeries that utilize personal protective equipment (PPE).
Created Equal, an Ohio-based pro-life organization, discovered that at least seven abortion clinics across the state were defying the order, including Preterm clinic, the Women’s Med Center, and various Planned Parenthood facilities.
As a result, Attorney General Yost sent a letter Friday to Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio ordering it to “immediately stop performing non-essential and elective surgical abortions.”
“The order was issued, in part, to preserve PPE for health care providers who are battling the COVID-19 pandemic that is spreading in our state and also to preserve critical hospital capacity and resources. The Ohio Department of Health has received a complaint that your facility has been performing or continues to offer to perform surgical abortions, which necessarily involve the use of PPE,” Yost said in his letter.
“If you or your facility do not immediately stop performing non-essential or elective surgical abortions in compliance with the attached order, the Department of Health will take all appropriate measures,” he added.
Aaron Baer, president of Citizens for Community Values, praised Yost for “sticking up for all lives” during the pandemic.
“Ohio is taking a series of steps today to protect the dignity of life,” he said. “Abortion is not healthcare, and abortionists shouldn’t be using valuable life-saving medical equipment to destroy life. Attorney General Yost is standing up for our most vulnerable during this crisis and saving countless lives.”
As of Saturday afternoon, Ohio had 247 confirmed COVID-19 cases across 33 counties. The state has experienced three deaths as a result of the virus and has hospitalized 58 patients.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Dave Yost” by Dave Yost. Background Photo “Planned Parenthood Building” by Fibonacci Blue. CC BY 2.0.
