Clinic staff described packed waiting rooms, full parking lots and phones ringing nonstop in the final days before the state’s new law takes effect.
Abortion clinics in Florida say they have been trying to see as many patients as possible before the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks takes effect Wednesday.
In Jacksonville, a clinic called A Woman’s Choice provided around double its usual volume of abortions Monday, according to Amber Gavin, its vice president of advocacy and operations.
The waiting room has been so crowded that patients’ companions were asked to stay in their cars or drop people off to free up space, Gavin said. Parking spaces were also scarce, prompting some patients to park off-site and walk to the clinic.
“Tomorrow is going to look very different,” Kelly Flynn, CEO of A Woman’s Choice, said Tuesday. “A lot of patients will come in for the consult and be told that we can’t see them.”
Not sure how to read this. Are you saying that the abortion clinics putting in the overtime and effort to see as many people before a pretty much outright abortion ban is a train wreck, or that this ban in general causing this insanity is a train wreck?
I’m not blaming the staff for doing what they can - they’re trying their hardest to make the best of a bad situation. But medical procedures are best performed by professionals who are rested and calm, not working overtime/triaging under stress because they’re trying to handle as many patients as possible before the door closes. And yes, the ban that sets the stage for this whole situation is a train wreck. The policymakers have created an unnecessary emergency among other criticisms.
I’m presuming the latter, It’s pretty bad all around.