Health system revises pregnancy policy
Outlines pregnancy termination procedures
Oak Brook, IL-based Advocate Health Care announced in October a policy on pregnancy termination applicable to all Advocate facilities.
The policy, which should be implemented at all facilities as soon as possible but no later than Jan. 1, 2000, outlines criteria for when pregnancy termination procedures can be performed and at which facilities. Implementing the policy should be done without disrupting current patient care practices, Advocate officials urged.
Services limited to two facilities
The key points of the policy are:
• Pregnancy termination will be available to patients making difficult decisions in cases of rape or incest, where there is a serious threat to the life of the mother, or when there are lethal fetal anomalies incompatible with sustained life.
• For families who decide to terminate a pregnancy in those cases, the service will be available only at Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn and Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
Those are the two Advocate facilities with the greatest expertise and most comprehensive capabilities related to high-risk pregnancies, and they can provide comprehensive wholistic services, according to a company statement. Other system hospitals may refer patients to Lutheran General or Christ Hospital for this care.
• All cases will be reviewed by a perinatal ethics committee composed of seven different disciplines. The committee is required to approve each case before the procedure can be performed.
• Counseling is mandatory in all cases.
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