PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Healthcare’s practice of referring women elsewhere for abortion services adequately serves those seeking such services, said the hospital’s chief medical officer.
“There is nothing in our bylaws, there is no directive, for us to not provide termination services,” Dr. Joseph Mattern, the hospital’s chief medical officer, said last week.
The hospital does not perform abortions on-site because of practicality, not policy, according to staff members.
“The reason we don’t is decided through medical staff and the willingness or interest on the part of that staff to provide that service and organizational support,” Mattern said.
“If we are going to do it, we want to do it well.”
The Seattle office of the American Civil Liberties Union has said it believes a public hospital that provides maternity care but not abortion services is in violation of state law.
The ACLU accused the East Jefferson County hospital of being out of compliance with state law in its provision of abortion services in a Feb. 18 letter addressed to the hospital board and CEO Mike Glenn.
“If a public hospital provides a wide range of maternity services, which Jefferson Healthcare does, it needs to provide a full range of termination services,” said Leah Rutman, ACLU’s policy counsel, who wrote the letter.
The letter asks that the hospital change its policies and practices “to fulfill its obligations under the Reproductive Privacy Act.”
Glenn is preparing an answer to the letter, Jefferson Healthcare Marketing Director Kate Burke said last week, adding that it would be several days before it is ready.
No abortions are performed in East Jefferson County, according to the county public health department.
Patients who desire or require abortions are referred to clinics in Port Angeles, Bremerton or Seattle, according to Julia Danskin, a nurse with the Jefferson County Department of Public Health.
Referrals are made at the doctor’s discretion.
These clinics are “well-oiled machines,” according to Dr. Molly Parker, a family practitioner on Jefferson Healthcare’s staff.
“Patients at these clinics get a supportive response, consulting about other options, the procedure and recovery,” Parker said.
“It’s done with good support.”
Clinics such as Planned Parenthood also have specific equipment for the procedure, she said.
An average of 57 abortions are requested annually in Jefferson County.
“We don’t offer termination services because we feel that other agencies perform them well and offer the best option for patients,” Mattern said.
“We provide services based on volume and staffing at what makes sense.”
Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles operates in a similar fashion, according to Executive Assistant Gay Lynn Iseri.
She said OMC does not perform terminations in the hospital and that referrals are up to the physician’s discretion.
The Port Angeles branch of Planned Parenthood receives referrals for abortion, according to spokeswoman Katie Rogers. She said it does not track the origin of those referrals.
Officials at Forks Community Hospital did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Jefferson Healthcare, OMC and Forks Community are the only ones on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Neither OMC nor the Forks hospital received letters from the ACLU like that sent to Jefferson Healthcare.
In addition to the Jefferson County hospital, the ACLU also sent letters of concern to Whidbey General Hospital in Coupeville and Mason General Hospital in Shelton.
At the same time, it filed a lawsuit against Skagit Valley Hospital alleging noncompliance with state law because it routinely refers patients to Planned Parenthood or other private clinics, rather than providing abortions on-site.
The ACLU is disputing the idea that referring patients off-site for abortions is substantially equivalent to the maternity care the hospital offers.
In the letter to Jefferson Healthcare, the ACLU cites an August 2013 state attorney general opinion.
The opinion says state law requires a public hospital that provides maternity care service or information to also provide “substantially equivalent benefits, services or information” regarding contraception and abortion.
“We express no opinion on exactly how hospital districts may comply with this requirement,” the attorney general’s opinion says.
Rutman said last week that the ACLU had not had any contact with Jefferson Healthcare since the letter was sent and that her agency is conducting an investigation of local procedures.
She said the ACLU is investigating every hospital in the state concerning this issue.
If a hospital did not receive a letter, it does not indicate the ACLU believes the hospital is in compliance with the law, she added.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
