Hospital system clarifies women’s health care under abortion ban

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — One of central Indiana’s major health care providers is telling News 8 how it plans to handle Indiana’s new abortion ban when it begins on September 15. 

Community Health Network says that when the near-total abortion ban starts, their doctors will follow the law. However, women will get the same prenatal, contraception, and miscarriage care they have always had. Plus, when it comes to abortions, the hospital system plans to help women find the care they need or want.

“I think initially when this legislation was just being discussed, a lot of women were concerned,” Dr. Indy Lane said.

Lane has been an OB-GYN with Community Health Network for 18 years and now also runs the Physician Executive Women’s Product Line for the hospital system.

For her, the change to the abortion law is a first, and it has her patients wondering, what next? Therefore, she is providing some reassurance.

“Their care is not going to change. Thankfully, we will continue to be able to provide contraception and sterilization for those women, and I think that the vast majority of services we provide for miscarriage will continue to go on as they always have,” Dr. Lane said.

Abortions

The Community Healthy Network hospital system has never performed elective abortions. However, Lane says, Community Health has always advised women on where to go if they need or want to terminate a pregnancy. It plans to still do that.

“We know that women cannot seek elective pregnancy termination in Indiana, but we are not forbidden in terms of giving those patients the resources that they may need or seek outside of Indiana so they can get safe care,” Lane said. “We will always take care of women. So, if a woman comes into our organization who needs care after having an elective pregnancy termination in another state, we will absolutely take care of that patient.”

The health system’s doctors are also analyzing the exceptions to the new law. According to SB1, abortions are allowed in cases of rape and incest up to 10 weeks post-fertilization to protect the life and physical health of the mother and if a fetus is diagnosed with a fatal anomaly.

Exceptions

News 8’s Hanna Mordoh asked Lane what conditions are considered “fatal fetal abnormalities.”

“So, it varies. I think there is still some discovery, some work that needs to be done, certainly at Community Health Network, to understand what exactly we define as a lethal anomaly — because there are some gray areas and we are still trying to work through that as an organization. We absolutely will comply with the law, and so, in order to make sure we are following the law, we do need to understand what is defined as lethal versus not,” Lane said.

Lane also explained how the term “women’s health” will be interpreted.

“For instance, if a woman is diagnosed with cancer and she needs chemotherapy, providing chemotherapy to the patient will be deleterious to the fetus. However, not proceeding with the therapy will impact the woman’s life. So that is an example in which case seeking a termination may be reasonable for that mother,” Lane said.

Miscarriages

Dr. Lane says she hopes to debunk any confusion surrounding miscarriages.

“A miscarriage from a medical perspective is when you have a pregnancy where fetal growth has ceased or there is no fetal cardiac activity. Sometimes a pregnancy begins and then, even before there is cardiac activity, growth stops. That is considered a miscarriage. Sometimes, unfortunately, there is fetal cardiac activity at one point and then it stops, and that is also a miscarriage,” Lane said.

Miscarriages are often labeled on paperwork as “missed abortions” and have similar medical care. While physicians understand the difference, it can be difficult for some people to interpret.

“When you look at the technical term, the medical term — it is also sometimes diagnosed as a ‘missed abortion,’ and I think that is where a lot of confusion comes in. Although it is called a ‘missed abortion,’ we will still be able to take care of those women that experience a miscarriage — meaning their pregnancy has terminated for reasons that we don’t always know,” Lane said.

For a miscarriage, women will still be able to get a surgical D & C (dilation and curettage procedure) to remove any remaining fetal tissue or they can take oral medication, such as Cytotec and Misoprostol, to do the same thing. These are similar to medications and procedures used in abortions, but they would be strictly limited to patients who have had a miscarriage.

“This is a procedure that is done when a woman has a pregnancy that is not viable  – under no circumstances would the pregnancy continue on,” Lane said.

When asked if there would be any concerns doctors would be investigated for these procedures, Lane replied, “I think, with that, we are still doing discovery on how that medication can be used. Again, we have only used it for miscarriages and it is highly regulated in terms of it having to be dispensed in the office. You have to have the patient take it in front of you and it has to be when we know it is no longer a viable pregnancy.”

Clinic Care

Under the new law, abortions can only be performed in hospitals or outpatient centers owned by hospitals, meaning all abortion clinics could lose their licenses.

Community Health Network says it has not come to any conclusions about if they will perform these so-called “exception abortions” in the future. Dr. Lane said clinics are crucial to helping women get contraception or Plan B and they also provide women with crucial healthcare and she hopes they continue to stay open for those reasons. 

Future Concerns

When asked if there is any concern women’s healthcare will suffer in Indiana moving forward, Dr. Lane said, “We certainly hope not. We will always take care of women, so if a woman comes into our organization who needs care after having an elective pregnancy termination in another state, we will absolutely take care of that patient. We are concerned about an increase of women coming to our organization who have perhaps not gotten the best care, but we will absolutely take care of those women and provide them with the best compassionate nonjudgemental care.”

News 8 reached out to all the major hospital networks in central Indiana for this story, however, most said they couldn’t comment on specifics yet and were still trying to understand how the law impacts their care.

The Indiana Hospital Association sent the following statement:

“Hospitals are working to quickly update policies and procedures to ensure compliance with SEA 1, which will take effect Sept. 15. As providers implement this new framework, IHA remains committed to ensuring that elected officials, at every level, understand the importance of supporting medical professionals and protecting them from liability and other repercussions when working in good faith to comply with the new law while providing lifesaving care to Hoosier moms and babies.”