MADISON, Wisconsin, April 3, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – More than 30 members of the Wisconsin Legislature signed a letter to Democrat Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday, demanding that the far-reaching shutdown orders he has instituted so far to contain COVID-19 be extended to suspend operations at abortion facilities.
Evers’ March 24 “Safer at Home” order mandates temporary closure of an array of “non-essential” businesses, although it does not suspend elective medical procedures as many states have done in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus and free up time and resources to focus on patients afflicted by COVID-19. In fact, the order exempts “Healthcare and Public Health Operations,” which “shall be broadly construed.”
Thursday’s letter, which is signed by 31 lawmakers including state Sens. André Jacque and Scott Fitzgerald and state Reps. Barbra Dittrich and Jeremy Thiesfeldt, noted that the state’s abortion industry remains open, “needlessly exposing people to the potential to contract COVID-19 and using precious medical resources that are needed elsewhere to save Wisconsinites.”
Sign petition asking Gov. Evers to shut down abortion facilities here.
“It is deeply disturbing to find out that many lower risk businesses have been shuttered while you have given Wisconsin’s abortion clinics special dispensation to remain in operation,” the lawmakers wrote. “We must not allow abortion clinics to put profit ahead of the public welfare and continue with these elective surgical procedures which now are done at a greater risk to the patient as well as our community. Too often, abortions result in complications that lead to the emergency room and further drain our overstretched system.”
The letter called on Evers to take “immediate action to ensure a halt to the operation of abortion facilities in Wisconsin for the duration of the declared public health emergency.”
Evers, a pro-abortion governor who has threatened to veto pro-life legislation up to and including legislation to protect newborns frorm infanticide, is not expected to take the letter’s demand to heart.
Pro-life medical professionals have arguied that allowing elective abortions to continue as normal puts business interests ahead of public health.
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) says that while “elective abortion is neither ‘essential’ nor ‘urgent,’” it “does consume critical resources such as masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment, and unnecessarily exposes patients and physicians to pathogens.”
“Elective abortion, both surgical and drug induced, also generates more patients to be seen in already overburdened emergency rooms,” AAPLOG continued. “Most abortion providers instruct women to go to an emergency room if they have any concerning symptoms after the abortion. Approximately five percent of women who undergo medication abortions will require evaluation in an emergency room, most commonly for hemorrhage. Surgical abortions can also result in hemorrhage. Emergency room personnel – who are already struggling to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic – will be further strained to provide care to these women.”