Cleveland – A three judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today dismissed Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s motion appealing the ruling of federal District Court Judge Michael Barrett, who ruled Ohio could not enforce a temporary ban on elective surgeries in order to curtail the potential spread of the lethal COVID-19 virus, on abortion facilities.

Governor Mike DeWine and ODH Director Dr. Amy Acton of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) have repeatedly noted that Ohio’s supply of PPE for hospitals on the front lines of combating COVID-19 is dangerously insufficient, and have asked providers of these elective surgeries to surrender such face masks, gloves, and ventilators for the effort to save lives of those hospitalized by the virus. The abortion providers refused to comply with the ODH, then asked federal Judge Michael Barrett to issue a temporary restraining order against the DOH enforcing the state’s order against abortion facilities, which they received the same day. The state then appealed the decision to the Sixth Circuit.

“It is incredibly disappointing that the Court denied this appeal,” stated Molly Smith, President of the Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio (RTLACO) and of Cleveland Right to Life (CRTL). “This lack of action gives Planned Parenthood, PreTerm, and their fellow travelers great latitude to keep up business as usual, which means more deaths will occur daily from abortion than from COVID-19 in Ohio.”

The panel found that the appellate court had no jurisdiction on the matter, as the District Court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) of 14 days’ duration, and the state’s clarification of their interpretation on enforcement in the appeal motion, did not rise to the level that the TRO “threatens to inflict irretrievable harms or consequences before it expires.” While stopping short of stating that abortion is an essential service, as abortion providers are claiming, the Appellate panel suggested that other procedures, such as chemical abortion or aspiration abortions, could still be performed even in the face of the state’s order prohibiting elective surgeries.

“In a critical time for the welfare of the citizens of our state, the abortion providers want to have the courts believe that killing an unborn child, putting the woman’s health status into the high risk category, and consuming desperately-needed PPE is ‘essential,’ but the Court didn’t take that argument,” noted Linda Theis, President-Elect of RTLACO. “The panel says it has to be determined on a case-by-case basis, and we call on the Governor, Attorney General, and Director Acton to carefully monitor each of the facilities and whether or not their actions fall within the guidelines or not.”

“Abortion providers once again are showing that their profits come above even the health of our elderly, those who are high-risk for contracting this deadly virus, and even their own staff who could be exposed to this disease,” commented attorney Jeff Barefoot, Chairman of the Board of Greater Toledo Right to Life and vice-president of RTLACO. “We know that they operate in a questionable legal fashion to begin with, but now they are fully showing that their greed is the driving force of their industry, not providing health care.”

Judge Barrett is likely to issue a permanent injunction against the state’s enforcement of the order at the conclusion of the fourteen-day TRO. The Attorney General’s office must appeal that ruling on further grounds. RTLACO’s legal counsel, Thomas More Society, stands ready to assist in such an appeal.