Madison Surgery Center will not offer second-trimester abortions

The Madison Surgery Center will not offer second-trimester abortions after all, according to a news release issued late Monday by UW Health.

"MSC is co-owned by UW Hospital and Clinics, UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital. The MSC board had approved introducing second-trimester abortion care at MSC, but throughout the planning process held patient safety and privacy as the paramount consideration. MSC has now concluded that the open and multi-purpose nature of the 1 S. Park campus makes it very difficult to guarantee the safety and security that all patients deserve."

The statement noted that Gov.-elect Walker, Rep. Tammy Baldwin and other elected officials were notified of the surgery center's decision. "UW Health leaders continue to believe and support that women should have access to this legal option as part of comprehensive reproductive health care."

Teri Huyck, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said in a written statement her organization was "deeply disappointed" in the decision by Madison Surgery Center. "This is a threat to women's health in our state," she said, noting that second trimesters are rare but sometimes necessary because women can deveop unexpected medical complications that put their life or health at risk. Huyck charged that "UW Hospital and Clinics, UW Medical Foundation and Meriter Hospital are failing to live up to their commitment to women."

Peggy Hamill, state director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, says her group is not surprised by the announcement from the surgery center. "Pro-Life Wisconsin suspected for over a year that they were unable to get their ducks in a row," she said, noting that the surgery center was unable to get "full staff support for the practice of late term abortion" at the facility. Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Right to Life campaigned hard against the provision of abortion services at the surgery center.

In an April 30 letter to Eau Claire attorney Karen Mueller, Assistant Attorney General Kevin Potter said his agency would not be pursuing a requested investigation into the surgery center's plan to offer abortions because the facility had decided on its own not to offer late-term abortions. But UW Health officials issued a statement at the time denying it had dropped its plans.

"UW Health remains strongly committed to a comprehensive women's reproductive health service that includes this important procedure," the statement said.

The statement was vague, however, on when or where the procedure would be offered. "All of our clinical programs are designed and implemented to best serve the needs of our patients. Because of the sensitive nature of this clinical program, we do not consider it in the best interests of our patients to discuss the timing or location of these services. We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure that area women have access to a comprehensive women's health program."

Kevin St. John, special assistant to the attorney general, said Potter's conclusion was based on oral and written "respresentations from UW-Madison legal counsel" that, among other things, there was no plan in place to pay UW employees to perform these services and that UW was not currently working on such a plan.

The surgery center voted in February 2009 to offer abortions at its Park Street facility. Anti-abortion groups have protested outside the facility since.

 Cap Times