By Cheryl Sullenger

Wichita, KS – Bedlam broke out at a Wichita, Kansas, abortion facility as one man was arrested for stealing property from a pro-life leader Mark Gietzen, and another police report was filed when the clinic security guard gave him a bag of vomit from a sick woman who was inside the very busy Trust Women abortion business.

This is the same abortion facility where it was reported last week by Operation Rescue that a California abortionist drove to Kansas to conduct abortions without being tested for the Coronavirus after treating patients who were infected with the disease.

Abortions were conducted at the Trust Women Wichita abortion facility on Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29, 2020, when women came from all over the U.S.  One even arrived in a vehicle bearing a Canadian license plate.

It is estimated that 117 abortions were done with around 80 occurring on Saturday – a record.

There was heavy traffic from Texas and Oklahoma, where abortion facilities have been shut down by those state in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

Women were also coming in from Louisiana, which has been particularly hard-hit with the virus. Women from Louisiana had to drive through multiple states to get to Kansas. These women had the potential of spreading the virus along the way.  People who are not yet symptomatic, but have been exposed to COVID-19 can still transmit the virus to others.

Barf bag attack

On Sunday, March 29, 2020, a woman from Texas that appeared to be very sick was having a difficult time driving approached the Trust Women abortion facility.  Confused, she pulled into the wrong parking lot, and with effort, finally made her way into the abortion facility.  She stopped long enough to accept a pro-life pamphlet from Gietzen.

A few minutes later, clinic security guard Carl Swinney, who is responsible for screening every person who enters the clinic and searching their bags, came out of the clinic with a plastic shopping bag and handed it to Gietzen, saying it was from the sick woman, who had been admitted to the clinic.  The bag contained the pro-life pamphlet Gietzen had given her, along with vomit and used facial tissue. Swinney was not wearing any personal protective gear.

Later Swinney was seen taking the clinic’s trash out to the dumpster.  He was still not wearing any protective gear.  His interaction with patients, vomit, and trash throughout the day were serious infection control violations that had great potential of spreading disease to everyone he was in contact with throughout the day — all in the midst of the serious COVID-19 outbreak.

It is unknown why the woman was sick and vomiting, but she obviously suffered from some kind of virus or sickness.  The concern was that she was inflicted with COVID-19.  The temporary tag frame on her new Lexis SUV bore the name of a Lexus dealership in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, which has been a hot spot for COVID-19.

Gietzen called the police, who apparently had no sense of urgency.  They arrived three hours later.  The officers made a police report and recommended that the vomit bag be disposed of as hazardous waste. 

A nurse and fellow pro-life activist, Jennifer McCoy, arrived and began to help Gietzen deal with the vomit bag.  She received advice from a local hospital and was given a red biohazard bag from an ambulance crew.

“In some places, people who are coughing on others and claiming to have COVID-19 are being charged with making a terroristic threat,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue.  “Gietzen is a victim of something far worse, in my opinion. Swinney should be in jail for his part in the two attacks on Gietzen in two days.”

Thugs

The previous day, Gietzen was alone at the abortion facility’s parking lot gate when he was attacked by two men who had arrived in a vehicle with an Oklahoma license plate.  Gietzen told Operation Rescue that the pair “roughed him up” and sprayed him with a liquid, which he got in his mouth.  They also tried to forcibly take his phone from him, which he was using to document the incident.  However, the camera had been turned off in the midst of the attack.

One of the men stole his Marine Corps Veteran ball cap from his head.  The man later drove out of the clinic wearing Gietzen’s cap over his hoodie and mocked him through the open car window.

Police were called, but were initially denied entry to the abortion facility by Swinney, citing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus.  Gietzen told Operation Rescue that a later check of the clinic’s security camera system showed that Swinney had turned the camera away from the gate to hide any evidence of the attack. 

Swinney, who is often armed, is considered a dangerous man by pro-life activists.  He lives in an apartment created for him inside the abortion facility and currently has a restraining order against him related to a battery conviction for physically attacking pro-life activist Jennifer McCoy.  He has also been convicted of three counts of drunk driving.  

In the end, police apprehended Gietzen’s attackers and charged one, who was still wearing Gietzen’s ball cap, with larceny.  Police declined to file battery charges because they did not witness the attack and there was no photographic evidence of it.

“Since the man who attacked Gietzen was from Oklahoma, he will likely get away with his crimes without consequence,” said Newman.  “This creates a climate that places pro-life activists at risk.”

Unlicensed abortionist?

The abortionist on duty over the eventful weekend remains unidentified at this time.

Clinic administrator Julie Burkhart complained in a recent Vice interview that she was having difficulty keeping her clinics staffed with abortionists.  That interview was done before Oklahoma issued an order to close abortion facilities in that state.  Yet, her comments were revealing.

The article stated:

[Burkhart]’s found four doctors who are willing to step in to provide abortion care if someone from the current roster gets sick or is unable to travel. But these four potential physicians would also be traveling to the clinic, and onboarding an out-of-state physician can take anywhere from weeks to up to a year. “We’re asking our physicians who are onboarding themselves to ask their specific boards to put a rush on their applications,” Burkhart said. “Otherwise we may not be able to provide essential [sic] services in time.”

But Burkhart may have moved prematurely to ensure maximum profits from what are actually non-essential elective abortions.  The person believed to have conducted abortions on March 29, 2020, may not have been licensed in Kansas. She does not fit the description of any abortionist listed on Trust Women’s 24-Hour Consent form. Listing those who conduct abortions on that form is mandatory.

Burkhart penned an opinion article that appeared in The Hill the day after the raucous weekend at her abortion facility.  That article was ironically titled, “Coronavirus is hindering access to reproductive health care.”

“It didn’t seem to hinder much over the weekend at Burkhart’s abortion mill.  She probably had one of the most profitable weekends of her career as an abortion clinic owner,” said Newman.  “However, the cost to the public health is immeasurable.  The number of people that will become sick because of the outrageous conduct by her staff remains to be seen.”

Police threaten pro-life outreach

Effective Monday, March 30, 2020, pro-abortion Democrat Governor Laura Kelly issued a state-wide stay-at-home order, which replaced the weaker order affecting Wichita, previously in put in place by the Sedgwick County Commissioners. 

Gietzen’s Kansans Coalition for Life maintains a presence outside Trust Women every hour the clinic is open for business.  The county order allowed for pro-life activists to continue their life-saving efforts.

However, when Gietzen arrived for a shift at the abortion facility on Monday, he was informed by police that they intended to enforce the new order by arresting pro-life activists.  However, Trust Women could continue to stay open, even though their operations endanger the public.

Now, McCoy has made it her business to make sure every one who might have authority to help protect the health of the public and the rights of pro-life activists is aware of the dangerous conduct of Trust Women’s employees.  She has arranged meetings and is working on a plan to close Trust Women during the COVID-19 crisis for posing a threat to the public health.

“Pro-lifers, who are now being threatened with arrest, aren’t the ones attacking people, handing out bags of vomit, or practicing medicine without a license.  That would be the abortion business.  How the situation at Trust Women is being handled by the city is completely dangerous, unjust, and a violation of our rights,” said Newman.  “I encourage pro-life supporters everywhere to contact Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and demand that Trust Women and all other abortion facilities be shut down.”

Take Action

Contact Democrat Governor Laura Kelly and demand that she order all Kansas abortion facilities to immediately shut down to protect the public from the unnecessary spread of the Coronavirus.

Use Governor’s email form by clicking here.

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Correction (4/8/2020): In a previous version of this report, a woman believed to be the abortionist at Trust Women was misidentified as Wisconsin abortionist Cheryl Chastine. This correction is based on new information that has since come to Operation Rescue. We regret the error. The article has been edited to reflect that new information.