Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health, a Catholic nonprofit system, has affirmed its support for physicians who perform medically necessary abortions, the health system said in a June 20 statement shared with Becker's.
The system, which operates 49 hospitals across Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and South Carolina, said it has shared internal messages of support with its clinicians since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The Supreme Court decision leaves the legal status of abortion up to states, but it has worsened pregnancy-related mortality and made it more difficult to manage emergencies related to pregnancy, according to a KFF survey of 569 OB-GYNs.
"Our health system, like many other national health systems, spans multiple states and adheres to the applicable laws in each where we operate," a spokesperson for the system told Becker's. "While the legislative environment is complex, our mission compels us to provide compassionate care for all. In emergent patient care situations, when providers and medical teams prioritize patient care and follow hospital policies and medical standards of care in good faith, they can expect the support of Bon Secours Mercy Health."
While Bon Secours Mercy Health said it has not, and will not, perform elective abortions, Catholic moral teaching values both mother and baby and does permit treating proportionately harmful medical conditions in a pregnant woman even if treatment results in the death of the unborn baby.
The system said it also adheres to Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requirements and supports physician compliance with the law.
Under EMTALA, Medicare hospitals must provide all patients experiencing a medical emergency a medical screening and stabilizing care. However, whether this extends to abortion has been at the forefront of lawsuits in states with strict abortion bans.
Abortion is banned in 14 states and many other states have attempted to ban or severely restrict abortion access, according to KFF.