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Pro-lifers go postal on Advocate
(The Leader www.illinoisleader.com) Suburban Chicago -- Two pro-life groups are waging postcard campaigns this month in separate endeavors to spotlight Advocate Health Care System's abortion practices.
Advocate owns 10 Chicago area hospitals, two of which are children's hospitals.
Advocate is the parent company of Christ Hospital, embroiled in a public relations nightmare since 1999 when it was revealed the hospital is involved in second trimester abortions that sometimes result in babies being aborted alive.
Advocate also owns Lutheran General Hospital, where pro-lifers have been battling its abortion practices for nearly 20 years. Monthly picketers outside the hospital usually include Virginia McCaskey, part owner of the Chicago Bears, whose father was George Halas.
The ire of pro-lifers on Chicago's southwest side was raised when Advocate recently applied with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board to build a new hospital in the same Tinley Park/Orland Park vicinity that St. Francis Hospital and Health Center applied. St. Francis is Catholic and pro-life.
Early in May, a coalition of pro-life/pro-family groups calling themselves Advocates Against Abortion at Advocate formed to tell the IHFPB, "Vote NO to Advocate, and Vote YES to St. Francis" through postcards distributed via direct mail, in 34 churches, and to parents at a Catholic elementary school.
On Wednesday, 6,429 postcards were hand-delivered to the IHFPB in Springfield. Public comment ended Thursday.
The IHFPB is scheduled to make a decision between the two hospitals or deny both requests on June 16.
Meanwhile, pro-lifers ratcheted up their battle against LGH two weeks ago by sending postcards to 700 residents who live near the hospital and 500 doctors who practice at LGH or in the Park Ridge area.
The postcards show a drawing of a monkey with the inscription "Hear No Evil" underneath. The postcard states, "Lutheran General Hospital performs second trimester abortions. Now that you have heard evil, what are you going to do?"
As of 2003, abortionist Vinod Goyal was on staff at LGH and also on the hospital's ethics committee. According to Dan Gura, one of the postcard sponsors, LGH will no longer say whether Goyal works there.
Goyal also owns five abortion clinics in the DuPage County area. Pro-lifers now picket his Inverness home once a month. During the picket in May, abortion supporters held a counter protest.
According to Advocate's 2001 abortion policy, three of its hospitals commit abortion. These are LGH, Christ, and Illinois Masonic. Advocate will abort for fatal fetal handicaps, "selective reduction" of pregnancies with two or more babies, rape, incest, or life or health of the mother.
Advocate's policy also states it will abort minor girls without parental consent.
Advocate says its new hospital would not commit abortion. But Advocate's policy states its nonaborting hospitals will refer abortion-minded mothers to one of its aborting facilities.
The Daily Herald reported on May 13 that LGH spokesperson Rev. Lee Joesten stipulated, "If fetus conditions do not meet our guidelines, the termination does not take place."
But, according to Advocate's policy, if a mother does not meet Advocate's abortion criteria, it will refer her to an outside abortion clinic or hospital.
Additionally, Advocate's pricing and collection policies toward the uninsured are under inquiry by the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee and the Attorney General. Advocate has been accused of price gouging the uninsured and using predatory collection practices against patients who can't pay their bills.
Two coalitions against Advocate for these reasons submitted 7,000 "Say NO to Advocate" postcards to the IHFPB during the public comment period.
Source: The Leader
Publish Date: May 28, 2004
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