Planned Parenthood and several abortion clinics sued the state of Texas, as Faithwire reported yesterday, after an emergency executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) essentially banned abortion because of limitations placed on all medical procedures deemed non-essential in order to free up medical supplies to combat the novel coronavirus.
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At least one abortion clinic in the state, Whole Women’s Health, has allegedly stopped canceling all appointments and is pushing the limits of the executive order, continuing to offer chemical abortions to patients, according to Pastor Jon Speed.
“Obviously, a chemical abortion is still a procedure,” Speed told Faithwire on Friday. Speed, pastor of Missions and Evangelism at First Baptist Church of Briar and co-producer of the documentary “Babies Are Still Murdered Here,” said Whole Women’s Health was jam-packed with abortion-seeking women regularly walking in and out of the building, possibly in violation of the social distancing mandates from the state. “You just had to look at the number of cars,” Speed added.
Initially, the abortion clinic canceled appointments but resumed soon thereafter, as the facility’s leaders continue to battle the state in court. From the Texas Tribune:
Whole Women’s Health operates two Texas abortion clinics, in Fort Worth and in Austin. Amy Hagstrom Miller, the group’s president and CEO, said clinical staff had to cancel more than 150 appointments after the governor’s order, something she said creates “a health crisis on top of a health crisis.”
The abortion clinic claims abortion is “essential health care” and that it is a “time-sensitive service.” Critics have pointed out pro-abortion advocates commonly refer to the procedure as a “choice,” making it exactly what the state has deemed non-essential during this crisis.
Speed expressed frustration that the state was “not enforcing the chemical abortion issue” in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, despite state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s claim that violators would be prosecuted with “the full force of the law.”
Paxton, according to the Tribune, said: “No one is exempt from the governor’s executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures, including abortion providers. Those who violate the governor’s order will be met with the full force of the law.”
It appears the leaders of local abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood have made the decision that chemical abortion doesn’t classify as a “procedure,” and therefore, are comfortable pushing the limits of Paxton’s executive order as they wait for the lawsuit to move forward.
The Mayo Clinic defines “medical abortion” as “a procedure that uses medication to end a pregnancy.” While the “procedure” doesn’t require surgery or anesthesia and can be started at a medical office or home, there are still risks associated with the procedure that could force patients back to the clinic, where resources the state is trying to preserve would need to be used.
The Mayo Clinic lists “incomplete abortion, which may need to be followed by surgical abortion” among the many risks associated with medical abortion. Interestingly, the baby surviving the abortion attempt is also listed as one of the “risks” of taking abortion medication. The patient, Mayo Clinic explains, may have “an ongoing unwanted pregnancy if the procedure doesn’t work.”
Speed also claimed that while fewer babies are indeed dying in Texas currently under the order, many are heading across state lines to seek out abortion in neighboring Oklahoma.
Pray God uses this time to soften the hearts of abortion-seeking mothers and changes their minds, as they pursue such a horrific end to what is ultimately a blessing from God.