The Kingston General Hospital board of directors has announced the formation of a task force to review the hospital’s policies and programmers relating to abortion. Trustee Mary Van dewater, past president of the Women’s Aid and long-time hospital volunteer will head the 6-member task force, which is expected to conduct the study within one year.
The review is in response to a request by Mary Ellen Douglas, president of VITA, who has been a member of the hospital’s board of governors since 1982. Mrs. Douglas has been trying for some time to persuade the hospital to disband its abortion committee or, at the very least, to provide some abortion alternatives in its counseling for pregnant women.
Mrs. Douglas is very happy the review is to take place and hopes she is seeing “the light at the end of the tunnel.” She is waiting to hear the names of the other task force members, yet to be announced. “All I want,” she said, “is for the people chosen to be able to listen honestly to public opinion. Ideally, I hope they will be neutral on the issue, if that is possible.”
There were 675 abortions performed at Kingston General Hospital in 1983. The therapeutic abortion committee approved every request for an abortion. Once task force membership is complete, it will accept submissions from both groups and individuals in the Kingston area.
S.M.
