Hospital district responds to ACLU letter
Published 5:41 pm Monday, October 5, 2015
The San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1 has responded to a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union refuting their claim that the district is not in compliance with the Reproductive Privacy Act in its contract with PeaceHealth.
The original ACLU letter sent July 8 stated that “the RPA establishes that ‘[e]very woman has the fundamental right to choose or refuse to have an abortion’ and that public hospital districts ‘shall not deny or interfere’ with this fundamental right.”
The letter went on to say that it is “our understanding that while the District provides maternity care services through PIMC, it does not provide the substantially equivalent abortion care.”
The ACLU requested that the district change its policies and practices to fulfill the obligations under the Reproductive Privacy Act.
The responding letter from the district, dated Sept. 15 and presented at their Sept. 23 board meeting, said that the district is in compliance with the act’s requirements because Peace Island Medical Center does not provide maternity care directly or maternity care services by contract.
“The district therefore does not provide the services that trigger the Act’s requirement to provide ‘substantially equivalent benefits, services, or information to permit [women otherwise eligible for state benefits programs] to voluntarily terminate their pregnancies,’” the letter reads.
ACLU is addressing the same issue with other hospitals in Washington, and is currently suing Skagit Regional Health for failing to comply, while similar letters have been sent to hospitals on Whidbey Island and Mason County.
Director of Communications for ACLU Washington Doug Honig said that they are currently reviewing the letter, and continue to be concerned as to whether the hospital is complying with the state’s Reproductive Privacy Act.
