While states halt abortions to preserve urgently needed supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE), the abortion lobby is claiming that halting abortions wouldn’t help to fight COVID-19 anyway, because abortions don’t require much PPE. Texas, Alabama, Ohio and other states have ordered abortion businesses to temporarily shut down. Many of these businesses have resisted, insisting that abortion is an “essential” medical procedure.

In response to these state orders, abortionist Daniel Grossman — who sits on the board of the Texas based abortion chain, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance (WWHA) — tweeted on March 25, “You can’t tell me that cancelling abortions is going to free up enough PPE for hospitals considering the scale they’re requesting.” Grossman reiterated this to Rewire News, saying, “Very little personal protective equipment is used in a first-trimester aspiration abortion that’s performed in an outpatient clinic. Maybe you would use a pair of disposable nonsterile gloves for the ultrasound and then another pair of disposable nonsterile gloves when the abortion is actually performed.”

He then added, “It’s important that the clinician use a face shield that can be reused throughout the day with multiple patients. But usually, a mask isn’t used. There’s no gown.” CDC guidelines for COVID-19 indicate a faceshield can be used in place of an N95 respirator.

According to the CDC, essential COVID-19 PPE consists of the following:

Gowns : Nonsterile, disposable patient isolation gowns… used for routine patient care in healthcare settings….

: Nonsterile, disposable patient isolation gowns… used for routine patient care in healthcare settings…. Gloves : Nonsterile disposable patient examination gloves… used for routine patient care in healthcare settings….

: Nonsterile disposable patient examination gloves… used for routine patient care in healthcare settings…. Respirator : A… personal protective device… worn on the face or head and covers at least the nose and mouth….

: A… personal protective device… worn on the face or head and covers at least the nose and mouth…. N95 mask: An N95 FFR is a type of respirator which removes particles from the air that are breathed through it….

Planned Parenthood

Live Action News previously documented that Planned Parenthood abortion facilities in California and Pennsylvania have been requesting donated PPE. Each Planned Parenthood facility is an abortion center. The facilities include:

Abortion Facilities

Family Planning Associates abortion facility in Chicago states online that they provide women a “gown” to wear during abortion, writing, “The admissions staff member will escort you to a private area where you will change into a gown that we provide.” A Woman’s Choice abortion chain also states, “You will change into a surgical gown and have a seat in our surgical waiting room.”

Just this week, Operation Rescue published this image (below) of an abortion staffer outside the Hope Clinic for Women in Illinois wearing PPE, including a mask, after an ambulance was summoned there to pick up a patient. OR wrote, “one clinic worker in blue surgical scrubs cavalierly gave the thumbs up sign to the pro-life activists who watched with concern for the injured woman.” Read that story here.

Other images of abortion staffers awaiting ambulances outside abortion facilities are similar:

Within the past few week, pro-lifers in Michigan documented abortion staffers wearing PPE around an abortion facility in Detroit.

Use of PPE is recommended when using manual abortion aspirators (MVA):

National Abortion Federation (NAF)

In response to COVID-19, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) advised that, “[T]hese procedures do not require full PPE, including an N95 respirator. Abortion providers should screen patients prior to the procedure and use standard precautions.” However, NAF’s safety guidelines state, “Facilities should establish… procedures for properly… handling, and storing biological specimens…. Facilities should establish written policies and procedures for infection control.” Are Grossman and NAF suggesting that handling biological specimens and infection control are accomplished with little PPE?

World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Clinical Practice Handbook for Safe Abortion begs to differ. It states, “Since abortion procedures and care involve contact with blood and other body fluids, all clinical and support staff in all facilities that provide these services should understand and apply standard precautions for infection prevention and control, for both their own protection and that of their patients. Standard precautions are simple infection-control practices to be used in the care of all patients, at all times, to reduce the risk of transmission of bloodborne infections. They include: hand-washing with soap and water before and after all procedures; use of protective barriers such as gloves, gowns, aprons, masks, and goggles to avoid direct contact with blood and other body fluids; safe disposal of waste contaminated with blood or other body fluids; proper handling of soiled linen; careful handling and disposal of “sharps”; and proper disinfection of instruments and other contaminated equipment.”

In a separate section, WHO lists gloves, masks, and gowns as essential for “safe abortion care.”

While there have been documented instances of unsanitary abortion facilities, including accusations of abortionists neglecting to wear gloves, most abortion patients believe procedures are in place to protect them. Now that the industry is openly admitting they do not use basic protections like masks that can prevent transmission of the dangerous COVID-19 virus, perhaps abortion clients should reconsider their options.

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