Three Wisconsin-based Catholic hospital systems had planned to deny admitting privileges to physicians who performed abortions, but the state Department of Justice says such a policy would violate federal law, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report.
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare in Glendale, Columbia St. Mary's Health System in Milwaukee and Hospital Sisters Health System, based in Springfield, Ill, with four Wisconsin locations, have said they would not grant privileges to physicians who provide abortions.
In a court filing made last week, Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen and the state DOJ said hospitals that accept federal funds cannot discriminate against physicians if they "participate in or refused to participate in abortions," according to the report. If physicians were able to prove they were not granted admitting privileges based on their participation in or denial of abortions, hospitals could lose federal funding in the form of research and public health grants.
The hospitals' plan relates to a state law signed by Gov. Scott Walker in July but has been blocked by a federal judge until at least November. Under that law, physicians who perform abortions are required to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of their clinics.
In late July, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported seven physicians who provide abortions in the state lack privileges, and at least four were applying for them at religiously affiliated hospitals. "It would appear that they are trying to meet the regulation's central requirement: that they have privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of their clinics. But the doctors' advisers say they are applying more to prove that they cannot obtain the privileges than to actually secure them," according to the Journal Sentinel.
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