[hellinahandcart]

I'm late to this thread. Can you save me a little time and point me toward the posts where it is established that HCA hospitals provide elective abortions on demand?

Because all I see in the article is this very carefully-crafted sentence:

HCA reportedly provides abortions to its customers.

"Customers", as if it were a retail establishment. Not "patients". Gets the reader thinking about "profit" immediately, doesn't it? Which could lead one to assume they've got an abortion clinic right there on the premises, with walk-in service.

It could be just as accurate to say "HCA reportedly performs abortions on its patients", so I question the choice of the word "customer".

And "reportedly"? Doesn't the author KNOW? That sounds a lot like a CYA adjective in case he's WRONG.

And this objective little phrase in the title: "Reputed For-Profit Abortion Provider". Does the author have something against a for-profit operation as well?

That's why I'm tempted to think of this as a hit piece. It tries right out of the gate to imply that Frist is profiting from abortions, when it seems clear that he is profiting from hospitals, and most hospitals will perform abortions that are medically necessary.

So before I trash Frist, I have to know that his family's hospitals provide abortion-on-demand, and this article just doesn't give me that.

[Miss Marple]

I didn't participate in this discussion last night, but if I remember some court cases over the last decade or so, any non-religious hospital which has an ob-gyn department and receives federal funding (Medicare and Medicaid) MUST provide medically necessary abortions. Period.

Once could just as easily tag Community Hospital in Indianapolis, the Humana Hospitals, or a host of others in every state in the union with this charge.

I very much appreciate your analysis. I noticed this little "reportedly" comment as well.

I used to think Mr. Jeffreys was a better reporter than this. I am quite disappointed in him, and in Human Events.

[The Old Hoosier]

First, you ought to read the whole article. THen come back and ask any questions you may have.

And for a for-profit chain, I think "customers" works fine. Also for abortion, which is not a legitimate medical procedure anyway.