‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Author: ‘Pretty Sad’ That Abortion Deemed Essential While Heart Surgeries Are Not

J.D. Vance, author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Friday night that it was “pretty sad,” that in states like Michigan, governors are allowing abortions to continue by deeming them “essential” services while other necessary medical procedures are being delayed.

“It’s pretty sad that things that are politically favored, like abortion, like the abortion lobby, is deemed essential care. But things like heart surgeries, like joint replacements are not deemed essential surgeries,” Vance said. “Obviously, that means a lot of people, frankly, are suffering and we know they’re suffering in a context where most hospitals outside of New York City are not overrun. And so you just have a lot of needless human suffering that’s really, really terrible.”

These distinctions have already led to struggles. Hospitals on the front lines of the coronavirus have had to lay off staff because they aren’t making money from elective surgeries or medical procedures deemed “non-essential.”

In Texas, a hospital in Titus County had to cut staff by 10%. Rural hospitals in the state are also furloughing and laying off workers, while others are reducing hours or cutting pay.

In Michigan, hospitals are losing money without patient office visits and postponed medical procedures, Michigan Radio reported. The Detroit Medical Center announced Wednesday that it would furlough 480 employees. McLaren Medical Group said it would cut the hours of many of its 500 healthcare workers, including doctors, physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives, the outlet reported. Beaumont Health said it would close one of its eight hospitals and keep it empty “as a reserve COVID-19 hospital.” Michigan radio went on to report that Beaumont’s Wayne hospital laid off at least 300 workers.

Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading magazine for hospital workers, reported earlier this month that at least 140 hospitals in the country have furloughed workers.

Speaking of Michigan, Vance too Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) to task for her decisions during the coronavirus pandemic.

“And so if you look at the list of things you’re not allowed to do in Michigan right now, like buy tomato seeds at Home Depot, like go fishing with a motorboat, and you compare that to the things that you’re allowed to do in Michigan, like get an abortion,” Vance said on Fox. “If I’m a person living in Michigan right now, I wonder if those restrictions are about public health or if they’re about who has a political line to the governor. And I think unfortunately for some of these issues when we know the answer.”

“The end of the day, there is no rational public health justification for telling people they can’t buy tomato seeds on the one hand, but they can’t buy marijuana on the other where they can get an abortion,” Vance added. “And I think that our leaders need to think about not just whether these these orders make moral sense. That’s, of course, a very important question. But do, do they do the governance in a way that makes it easier for people to actually follow the social distancing guidelines?”

“And if they don’t, then what is the purpose of this whole thing?” he continued. “If we’re actually making it harder for good, honest citizens to follow the rules that we’re trying to get them to follow?”