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15.2000 •
JE W E L A. ROBINSON
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Opponents challenge Providence proposal by Tom Stevenson
hould a public health district, which
is partially taxpayer funded, be
allowed to turn over control of its
operations to a Catholic health care
system?
That is the question a Lincoln County Cir
cuit Court judge will be answering sometime in
February, but he already has said he expects
whatever ruling he makes will be appealed.
Robert Huckleberry presided over the recent
trial in Newport that pitted the Pacific Commu
nities Health District and Providence Health
Systems against a group of people who think the
affiliation agreement is unconstitutional.
The case has attracted national attention as it
focuses on whether the proposal violates the sep
aration of church and state portion of the U.S.
Constitution. Opponents of the agreement insist
that Providence has a distinct religious character
entrenched in its system. Even more specifically,
opponents insist that if the agreement is allowed
to be put in place, it distinctly would alter the
legal health treatments offered to those who use
the health districts facilities, especially in terms
of womens reproduction choices.
Providence, like other Catholic-sponsored
health care organizations, operates under the
Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives for
Health Care Institutions. This list of directives
is causing the greatest amount of concern,
according to two attorneys who are working to
block the agreement.
The directives, which Providence employees
are required to follow, forbid abortion, birth
control, artificial insemination and other repro
duction services, according to Rose Jade, an
attorney who lives in the Pacific Communities
Health District. She is one of the opponents of
the proposed agreement and was represented at
the trial by Portland-based attorneys Jane Paul
son and Maureen Leonard.
Paulson argues that the agreement is simply
not legal.
“I don’t think some people realize what is
going on,” she said. “Some may not fully realize
what they are signing on to when going to Prov
idence or being under the health plan.”
To Paulson and others fighting the agree
ment, the issue is simply about choice.
“Would taxpayers who are denied legal serv
ices such as birth control, abortion, artificial
insemination, etc. have a legal right to demand
those services?” she said. “That is part of the rea
son we think it is illegal. If tax funds weren’t
being received by Providence, there wouldn’t be
as strong of an argument.”
Providence has taken over many hospitals
throughout the country. In fact, the issue has
received a great deal of national attention in
recent years as Catholic health care organiza
tions continue to grow.
Paulson noted that Providence, in its strate
gic plan for 1999-2001, wants to have one out of
three people in Oregon, Washington and part of
California under its care by 2008. A number of
the mergers have been challenged, she said, but
what makes the situation in Lincoln County
unique is that the Pacific Communities Health
District receives property tax dollars.
How the proposed agreement would affect the
gay and lesbian community is unclear, according
to several people who are familiar with the issue.
“For gay women, I think the biggest poten
tial issue could be fertility,” Paulson said. “The
Catholic directives oppose any artificial means
of preventing or performing family planning. No
doctor in the district would be able to help a
patient with fertility, at least openly.”
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Women who live in the district could choose
to seek those types of services elsewhere, but for
many, that would be a financial burden. In addi
tion, Paulson said doctors in the district would
have their hands tied as to what they could sug
gest for their patients. “The big problem is the
Catholic directives would not only forbid a
physician from doing something opposed by the
directives, but should technically also not allow
a referral,” she said.
Still, no one accuses Providence of being anti
gay. In fact, it has received acclaim for its dedica
tion to AIDS patients as well as the amount of
free or low-cost health care services it provides.
According to a number of published reports,
the Pacific Communities Health District Board
originally signed the affiliation agreement with
Providence simply as a matter of economics.
The health care district operates a hospital in
Newport and five clinics in rural communities
such as Toledo and Depoe Bay.
Many rural hospitals have struggled to stay
afloat in this era of changes in health care, and
many simply have shut down. According to an
article in the Oregonian, the Pacific Communi
ties board members insisted that the deal with
Providence was “lifesaving” for the financially
ailing district.
Paulson and others did not fully buy into that.
They cited, among other things, comments from
former board members who insist that the district
is in better shape than it has been in for years.
"I think the answer (to the financial ques
tion) depends on who you ask," said Paulson,
who added that the district has $8 million in the
hank. “I do think the ‘lifesaving’ aspect has been
used to try and get people behind the deal, valid
or not.” j[7 1
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