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UNITED STATES, March 20, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Leading bodies representing American medical professionals have called on doctors to continue performing abortions in hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic, calling the murder of the preborn “an essential component of comprehensive health care.”

A statement released earlier this week by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Society of Family Planning, and a number of other medical professional member organizations has called on fellow medical professionals “to ensure abortion access is not compromised” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this week, many of the same organizations said the pandemic “is a public health crisis that requires the full attention and resources of our health care systems” and have called on hospitals to suspend elective surgeries.

The ACOG notes that “the pandemic is and will create stress and pressure on health care systems throughout the country” and highlights that some health systems have already decided to “cancel elective and non-urgent procedures to expand hospitals’ capacity to provide critical care.”

Nevertheless, the ACOG wishes for abortion to be exempt from any such decisions.

Dr. Christina Francis, chair of the board of the American Association of Prolife OB/GYNs (AAPLOG) told LifeSite that continuing to perform elective procedures, such as abortion, during a pandemic is “medically irresponsible.”

“Abortions use up much-needed resources such as masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment,” Dr. Francis noted.

In a statement sent to LifeSite, the AAPLOG stated that “abortions offer zero health benefits to women and do not treat a disease process” and issued a call for “abortions to be suspended according to the current recommendations pertaining to elective procedures and office visits.”

The pro-life medical statement stresses that abortion “potentially generates more patients to be seen in already overburdened emergency rooms.”

“Approximately 5% of women who undergo medication abortions will require evaluation in the hospital, most commonly for hemorrhage. Uterine perforation and hemorrhage can occur with surgical abortions,” the statement explains.

“Because most abortion providers do not manage their own complications, instead instructing women to go to an ER if they have problems, emergency rooms who are already struggling to keep up with the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to need to provide care to these women,” the statement continues.

“Our nation faces a critical blood shortage during this time, which will also negatively impact women’s health who experience abortion-related hemorrhage.”

AAPLOG says that the ACOG does not represent its membership when it claims that “abortion is an essential component of comprehensive health care.”

The statement explains that “85% of OB/GYN’s do not perform abortions. If abortion was an ‘essential component’ of women’s health care, it would be a part of most, if not all, of our practices.

“Services that are, in fact, part of essential care for women, such as cervical cancer screening, screening mammograms, and screening pelvic exams, are being postponed across this country as many offices reschedule non-urgent appointments in order to reduce their patient’s risk of exposure to COVID-19 and to conserve scarce medical resources.”

The statement noted that Dr Francis has recently covered ACOG's “transformation into a politicized pro-abortion organization” in a Wall Street Journal op-ed this month.

“In such an uncertain and tumultuous time, the entire healthcare profession is being called upon to conserve resources and healthcare professionals to an extent never seen before,” the statement notes.

“And yet, in the midst of this call, where hospitals are postponing elective procedures and many outpatient clinics are rescheduling non-essential office visits, the abortion industry continues with business as usual. What’s worse, some major medical organizations, like the American College of OB/GYN’s (ACOG), are supporting them in this.”