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December 1999
Eagle Forum of Illinois
"O'Malley Resigns from Christ Hospital Governing Board"
Oak Lawn, IL - "Live birth abortions" are still being performed on babies up to
24 weeks in fetal development at Christ Hospital. In late October, the Advocate Health
Care system presented a new abortion policy to the Governing Council of Christ Hospital.
The board voted to accept the proposal. As a result, Senator Patrick O'Malley (R-Palos
Park) resigned from his voluntary position on the council.
In an October 21 letter, Senator O'Malley wrote that the Governing Council's decision left
him "with no choice but to submit my resignation. Additionally, with my
resignation, I will be better able to publicly discuss this matter without
constraint." The senator immediately took his concerns to the media.
When the hospital's policy was announced, local newspapers reported that the new policy
would ban abortion on non-lethal abnormalities, such as Down's syndrome and spina bifida.
The hospital tried to give the public the impression that abortions would be more limited
than previous practice. Once the official policy was obtained and reviewed, it was clear
that the opposite was true.
In fact, the new policy clearly opens the door to abort babies who may have non-lethal
abnormalities, as well as lethal anomalies. Perfectly healthy babies who were conceived
due to sex crimes such as rape and incest are now also in grave danger at Christ Hospital.
According to this new policy, these abortions are performed on young ladies of any age
without the parents' knowledge. A 12 year old girl who discovers she is pregnant, whose
mental or emotional health is endangered by the pregnancy, may sign a consent form,
accepting responsibility for her choice. The hospital offers no other procedure that would
be administered so carelessly to a minor.
Prayer vigils continue to be held at Christ Hospital and Lutheran General Hospital. In
addition, the Pro-Life Action League has begun holding protests to bring community
attention to the hospital's practices.
In mid-November, Jill Stanek, the nurse who exposed this whole horrendous practice at
Christ Hospital, was given noticed of a 30-day suspension. Jill shared this development
with the audience of Sandy Rios, WYLL 106.7 FM talk show host, and asked them to pray for
her. Within two days, Jill reports that she received a phone call from her superior
telling her to "forget" the suspension and to report back to work.
In the meantime, IL Attorney General Jim Ryan has asked the Department of Public Health to
investigate the "live birth abortion" practice, and legislators are looking into
bill proposals that would clearly outlaw the practice, if the procedure is found currently
protected by Illinois law. There is still no report of this department's findings. There
is, however, a growing interest in trying to stop the practice with new legislation.
Attorneys are trying to determine if such a restriction is possible. Letters of
support for Senator O'Malley (who will be facing re-election next year) may be addressed
to:
Senator Patrick O'Malley
12314 S. 86th Avenue
Palos Park, IL 60464
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