On Background:

Grady Abortions: The Quiet Before The Storm?

By Dick Pettys
InsiderAdvantage Georgia

(11/5/07) It’s been a surprise to some that in a Georgia now under the political control of Republicans, revelations of abortions at taxpayer-supported Grady Hospital haven’t caused more of a stir under the Gold Dome, where leaders already are struggling with the question of how - or even whether - to help the ailing hospital get out of its financial troubles.

But don’t be too shocked if this quiet period proves to have been just the lull before the storm.

You may recall that back in September, WSB-TV’s Lori Geary aired a story documenting more than 2,800 abortions that had been performed at Grady between 2001 and 2003. Grady’s new CEO, Otis Story, told Geary he discovered the program shortly after taking office this summer and promptly shut it down.

Grady, don’t forget, is a public hospital operated by Fulton and DeKalb counties through an authority. But 80 percent of the doctors and doctors-in-training come from Emory Medical School and the rest from Morehouse School of Medicine. Grady has no doctors of its own.

With Grady’s finances continuing to deteriorate and fears in the community that it may have to shut its doors, there has been sharp attention already this year on details of the financial arrangements between Grady and Emory, with some arguing that Emory got a sweetheart deal when the last contract was negotiated, and taxpayers were left to foot the bill.

So the abortion revelation might well have been expected to inflame those already predisposed to question Emory’s relationship to and use of Grady, particularly given that part of Emory’s marketing to medical students has been the offering of family planning fellowships with “training in all aspects of contraceptive management and abortion care ... primarily at Grady Memorial Hospital.”

With the exception of one legislator’s strongly-worded remarks, this issue hasn’t exploded yet. But there are signs it’s boiling below the surface.

Rep. Melvin Everson, R-Snellville, fired off a letter to Grady’s CEO following the WSB-TV report. It began like this: “I was disturbed to learn that Emory University has been performing thousands of abortions at Grady Memorial Hospital and using this taxpayer owner and funded hospital to train abortionists.”

He demanded answers to a series of questions, but received what was described as a “non-responsive” reply. Everson since has filed an open records request with Emory and is awaiting that response.

And he’s not the only one waiting to see what Emory says. “It has not gone under the radar,” said Rep. James Mills, R-Gainesville. “It is about to undergo intense scrutiny. I am just trying to be fair to all parties involved before I say anything.”

Two groups we might have expected to weigh-in on this - the Georgia Christian Alliance, chaired by Sadie Fields, and the Georgia Christian Coalition, run by Jim Beck - have been relatively subdued on the issue so far.

In part, that’s because Story has said the abortions no longer are being performed. It’s also because there have been no further details of exactly what was going on and whether taxpayer funds were involved.

“I think the fact that it was stopped is a good thing and shows that Otis Story is moving forward with good intentions,” said Fields.

She said the abortion question is a concern lawmakers must address. "Obviously, we would not be in favor of funding abortions with taxpayer dollars at Grady via Emory, " she said. But she added that issue can be addressed in the context of finding a way to save Grady. “I’m willing to give them the room they need to work on that issue."

Beck said his group also is watching developments, with a particular eye on Emory. That's of note because legislators, too, have said they have been told that only Emory personnel were involved in the Grady abortions. As one lawmaker put it, "Morehouse has made it very clear to us that the abortion clinic was an Emory project and that they had nothing to do with it."

Beck said it's not just abortion that's placed Emory on the radar screen.

"Emory is an ostensibly Christian school, but the faith community's eyes have been opened by what seems to be a contempt for the sanctity of human life.Many of us were disturbed by Emory's advocacy of so-called medical research involving the killing of the embryos of unborn children. Now we learn that they have been using the indigent pregnant patients of Grady to train abortion doctors. It is a troubling pattern."

Strong language. If the storm hasn't quite hit yet, the clouds at least are gathering.

Dick Pettys, editor of InsiderAdvantage Georgia, covered Georgia government and politics for The Associated Press for 35 years. He can be reached at (404) 230 8930 or at dpettys@insideradvantage.com