For Immediate Release: August 8, 2019
Meg Wittman, Executive Director
Contact: 513-728-7870

(Cincinnati, OH)—On August 8 th , dozens of individuals and multiple organizations gathered outside the Potter Stewart Courthouse while Judges of the Sixth District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in EMW Women’s Surgical Center, et al. v. Adam Meier, et al. Defendants are appealing a lower court decision to overturn a 1998 statute in the state of Kentucky which mandates that licensed ambulatory surgical centers have a transfer agreement with a local hospital. Cincinnati Right to Life joined the Women's Health Advocacy Media Group (WHAM) to speak out in support of equity and basic standards of care for all women.
 
EMW Women’s Medical Center is the last remaining abortion facility in the state of Kentucky. When their license was threatened by the state due to issues with their hospital transfer agreement, the abortion facility took to the courts. In September 2018, U.S. District Judge Greg Stivers sided with EMW Women’s Surgical Center, striking down the 1998 law. The state of Kentucky has appealed this decision and oral arguments will take place on August 8 th .
 
“Women should receive the best possible care the medical community can offer. The fact that EMW Women’s Surgical Center is fighting so hard to lower basic health standards required by law indicates their total lack of care and commitment to all women,” commented Meg Wittman, Executive Director Cincinnati Right to Life. “A pregnant woman is particularly vulnerable and, regardless of circumstances, she deserves the best care that medical professionals can provide. It is unfathomable that a center claiming to be so committed to women is fighting for dangerously low standards of healthcare.”
 
Many states across the country require such transfer agreements to enable the continuum of care from the surgical center to the hospital. In a typical agreement, the surgical center agrees to supply the hospital with copies of all pertinent medical documents, available insurance and payment information, assumes the responsibility of delivery of patients’ personal effects and notification of emergency contacts, and provides the hospital with notice of transfer as far in advance as possible. The hospital then agrees to provide emergency medical care for a specified length of time, admit patients promptly, and provide copies of any treatment reports or test results back to the surgical center.