(WHAS11) – New developments on Monay may solve the trickiest part of the potential merger between the University of Louisville and Catholic Health Initiatives merger.
Some women are worried the religious directives that would come with the merger would compromise women's reproductive healthcare.
"The biggest fear we have is they're selling their soul," said Honi Goldman. "We understand the merger is important economically and medically important, but at what price and whose lives?"
Honi Goldman spent the Monday in Frankfort sitting in on a hearing at the state legislature to discuss the proposed merger between the University of Louisville and Catholic Health Initiatives. It's where Dr. Sharmila Makhija with UofL was testifying about how the merger would affect the University of Louisville's reproductive healthcare services.
"What we tried to do today with the committee is calm everyone's fears," said Sharmila Makhija MD, the Interim Chairman Department of OBGYN, UofL.
She says every procedure offered now will still be offered, but the one procedure in question is where doctors would perform a tubal ligation after delivery. The University is in negotiations with another healthcare system about using one of their facilities but cannot say which operator that is.
"Now what we are discussing with our patients is that we will schedule that procedure at another facility. Now this is no different than what we do across the country... we give the patient the option to choose the place," said Dr. Makhija.
But Honi Goldman says that's not the only concern.
"The concern is that the doctor's aren't making the decision on what's best for patients and the Catholic Church is. And the doctors hands are now being tied," said Goldman.
"There will still be access to reproductive services, just detailed discussion as to where they will be, everything will be the same," said Makhija.
