Will Madison Surgery Center Employees be Forced to Participate in Late-Term Abortions?
Late last week, a letter to UW officials was sent by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) on behalf of various Madison Surgery Center (MSC) staff to seek assurances that no staff member will be compelled to participate in late-term abortions at the facility which are expected to begin in September.
The letter was sent to Cheryl Wilson, Administrative Director of the Madison Surgery Center, Jeffrey Grossman, President and CEO of the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation and Robert Pierce, Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Writing on behalf of five named MSC staff members as well as other employees, ADF attorney Matt Bowman told the officials, “We write to ask for clarification and assurance from MSC, Meriter Hospital, the UWMF, the UWHC and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Anesthesiology, that our clients will not be compelled to participate in, provide assistance to, aid, recommend or perform any procedures for abortion at MSC.”
A recent letter from Peter Christman to MSC employees stated that employees who are at work while abortions are being performed would be expected to assist in “emergencies resulting from” late-term abortions. Christman compared complications in late-term abortions to emergency room cases resulting from drunk driving. He then declared that “health care professionals of course administer treatment despite their personal views of the reason for the injury.”
If unwilling MSC employees were to be forced to participate in late-term abortions, it would be a violation of the law. Wisconsin Statute 253.09 provides broad protections for health care workers who choose not to become involved in abortions.
Attorney Bowman, on behalf of his clients, requested a response from the UW officials by July 15, 2009.
All Madison Surgery Center employees have the legal right to refuse to participate in abortions The emotional impact of abortions on those who participate in them is well-documented. With late-term abortions, the impact is even more devastating. Having to view the body parts of late-term babies who have been dismembered results in dreams and nightmares, withdrawing from colleagues, depression, fatigue and anger.”
If the Madison Surgery Center were to force employees to become involved in late-term abortions, it would not only be against the law, it would subject employees to untold emotional and psychological pain.
The entire letter sent by Alliance Defense Fund to UW officials can be viewed at
http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/090701_Abortion_Letter.pdf
Sue Armacost