Toledo — This afternoon, Toledoans supporting the city’s only remaining abortion provider, Capital Care Network, rallied outside ProMedica’s flagship Toledo Hospital. Their message is a plea for ProMedica CEO Randy Oostra or St. Luke’s Hospital CEO Dan Wakeman to sign the transfer agreement the clinic needs to satisfy a medically-unnecessary regulatory demand forced up them by John Kasich.
Video of the event is available on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NARALProChoiceOhio/videos/1832333420124691/
The following quotes are excerpts from prepared remarks from rally speakers, plus full statements issued by Senator Sherrod Brown and Gloria Steinem.
US Senator Sherrod Brown sent a statement: “Women should have the freedom to make personal, private health decisions, and those decisions should be between them and their doctors, not their legislators. I’m disappointed that actions by the state government are now standing in the way of that, and limiting women’s access to quality health care in Northwest Ohio. We need to make it easier, not harder, for women to get the care they need, and I hope that we can reach a solution that makes that possible. The women of Northwest Ohio deserve access to the health services they and their doctors deem necessary, and state government red tape shouldn’t stand in the way. Thank you to all the Ohioans fighting for that access to quality care.”
Gloria Steinem sent a statement: “I was born and grew up mostly in Toledo. Later, when I needed an abortion — as has one in three American women at some time in our lives — I was in London, where it was safe and legal. This taught me why medical procedures should not be decided by politicians. We must not allow a political regulatory scheme to close Toledo’s remaining abortion clinic. Its absence would not diminish the number of abortions but would increase the injury and death of women in my home city and state. Democracy begins with each person’s control of his or her own body. Without reproductive freedom, there is no democracy for America women. I strongly urge ProMedica and St. Luke’s Hospital to safeguard women’s health by signing the transfer agreement needed to keep safe, legal abortion services available in Greater Toledo. Ohio hospitals must not allow themselves to be used by politicians to hurt women’s health.”
State Representative Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo): “The Ohio Supreme Court ruled against the reproductive rights and health of Ohio women by upholding a regulatory scheme designed to close Toledo’s only remaining abortion clinic. I know that if this clinic closes, women in northwest Ohio will suffer. I urge ProMedica and St. Luke’s Hospital to safeguard women’s health by signing the transfer agreement needed to keep abortion services safe and legal in the Toledo area. We can’t let politicians use Ohio hospitals to eliminate a safe, constitutional medical procedure.”
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Foundation Executive Director Kellie Copeland: “I know ProMedica and St. Luke’s would prefer to remain neutral on abortion and I am appalled that Governor Kasich, and now the Supreme Court of Ohio, has put them in this position. However, ProMedica or St. Lukes must either sign a transfer agreement with Capitol Care Network or admit they are being used as a part of Kasich’s quiet strategy to eliminate abortion access in Ohio. In the interest of women’s health, they must sign a transfer agreement with Capitol Care Network.”
Elaina Ramsey, Executive Director of the Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Health: “Ohioans of various religious backgrounds — including Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and other faith traditions — stand up every day for access to safe and legal abortion care. From the sanctuary to the streets, they offer women compassionate care not condemnation. That is why I’m proud to stand here with Toledo’s finest faith leaders to urge ProMedica and St. Luke’s to sign the transfer agreement with Capital Care Network.”
Connor McNamee, president of the Toledo chapter of Medical Students for Choice: “We know that eliminating access to safe, legal pregnancy termination doesn’t reduce demand for these services. We know that patients who do not have access to safe services will turn to unsafe ones. This, in turn, increases complications and deaths associated with pregnancy. These negative outcomes are preventable by providing patients with access to legal services performed under safe conditions by competent professionals.”
Rev. Dr. Lisa Tucker-Gray, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Toledo: “We are here today to seek a tangible and clear sign of support that ProMedica and St. Luke’s cares deeply about supporting the respect and dignity of every member of our community. So now the ball is in your court; being neutral is anything but. Make no mistake, the refusal to sign a Transfer Agreement is in fact a decision to deny respect and dignity for those who deserve it as much as any other.”
Reverend Tim Barger, minister at First Unitarian Church of Toledo: “Greater Toledo is a compassionate region. Our compassion means that we celebrate our differences, we learn from one another, and we help our neighbors. A transfer agreement is not a profession of belief. In essence, it’s a statement that one organization is prepared to attend to the particular circumstances related to the practices of another organization. It’s compassion in writing, backed up with helpful preparation. I urge ProMedica to be compassionate to women and families of northwest Ohio by doing its part, by instituting a transfer agreement, so that Capital Care Network can continue to provide safe, legal, and accessible women’s care.
Kristin Hady, Capital Care volunteer clinic escort coordinator: “Too often, patients have extreme difficulty affording an abortion, and if not for the tireless work of clinic staff and abortion funds, would find it out of reach, even in their own backyards. If Capital Care closes, patients would be forced to travel out-of-state or to cities like Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. For patients already struggling to afford the initial procedure, they must factor in reliable transportation and the added cost of gas, reliable childcare, securing two days off work (most of the time unpaid and not factoring in any needed recovery time), and finding someone to be able to travel with them. These added costs and factors would put abortion care far out of reach for those who need it.”
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