By Ron Smith
Richmond, KY – The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky questions a proposed hospital merger announced this week. The partnership involves University of Louisville Hospital, Jewish Hospital and Lexington's Saint Joseph Health System. Catholic Health Initiatives is giving 320 million dollars to support the new network. A Health Initiative spokesman says the system will not provide reproductive health services that are inconsistent with the church's ethical and religious directives. That worries ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project Director Derek Selznick.
"If they will not allow things like tubal ligations, vasectomies, access to birth control, those sorts of things. We want to make sure that for a hospital that provides the primary indigent care for Louisville, that low-income have access to these services," said Selznick.
Selznick wants the state-owned University Hospital to assure the public in writing that reproductive health care services will be preserved.