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The Allen County commissioners want to introduce a county ordinance today that will require doctors providing invasive outpatient procedures to have admitting privileges at a local hospital and have on-call, after-hours staff in case of postoperative emergencies. The commissioners drafted the ordinance after hearing anecdotal testimony from local gynecologist Geoff Cly, who is working with Allen County Right to Life to lobby for the added restrictions.
Local abortion opponents claim the restrictions are needed because of reports about patients suffering from complications after an abortion, but they acknowledge there is no way to confirm or track the number of cases.
If the commissioners truly fear there is a rampant problem with health care providers who do not have hospital privileges or after-hours staff, they should seek the guidance of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health. The health department is vastly more qualified than the county commissioners to determine best practices for health care.
And after consulting with the health department, the commissioners should also seek legal counsel, because it’s unclear whether the county commissioners have jurisdiction to change the regulations governing physicians. State laws already regulate physician licensure.
The objective of improving health care is admirable, but this ordinance will not improve care for women seeking abortions or for anyone else. It is a disingenuous attempt to curtail legal abortions.
Commissioner Nelson Peters said it was important for doctors performing invasive procedures to have admitting privileges at local hospitals to ensure people who experience problems with those procedures get the best care. But his argument is a red herring. Any patient needing emergency postoperative care will not be turned away from any hospital even if the doctor performing the procedure does not have admitting privileges.
The ordinance is scheduled for introduction today, but it is unlikely the commissioners will vote on it this week. Commissioner Linda Bloom previously expressed support for the ordinance and suggested the county would likely approve some form of it this year.
Vanderburgh County commissioners passed a similar ordinance last month. With luck, Allen County’s commissioners will seek the advice of experts, specifically local health department officials, to forgo making a similar mistake.
