Jackson Women's Health Organization et al v. Currier et al

Filing 5

MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order by Jackson Women's Health Organization, Willie Parker (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A - Brewer Declaration, # 2 Exhibit B - Parker Declaration, # 3 Exhibit C - Thompson Declaration, # 4 Exhibit D - Judge Barbour preliminary injunction in Pro-Choice v. Fordice, # 5 Exhibit E - Transcript excerpt of TRO ruling in Hodes v. Moser)(McDuff, Robert)

EXHIBIT C

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH
ORGANIZATION, on behalf of itself and its
patients,
and
WILLIE PARKER, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc., on
behalf of himself and his patients,
Plaintiffs,
v.
DR. MARY CURRIER, in her official
capacity as State Health Officer of the
Mississippi Department of Health,
and
ROBERT SHULER SMITH, in his official
capacity as District Attorney for Hinds
County, Mississippi,
Defendants.

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CIVIL ACTION #________________

DECLARATION OF BETTY THOMPSON IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION
FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND/OR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
I, Betty Thompson, declare under penalty of perjury that the following statements are true
and correct:
1. I have been working at or with the Jackson Women’s Health Organization (the “Clinic”)
since 1996, in several different capacities. I originally joined the Clinic as a counselor in
1996. Shortly thereafter, I took over as Assistant to the Director, eventually becoming
the Clinic Director in 1998. As Director, I was responsible for all aspects of the Clinic’s
operation, including its interactions with the Mississippi Department of Heath regarding
the Clinic’s license.

2. I stepped down from my role as the Clinic Director in 2004 due to personal health issues.
However, since that time I have been a consultant to the Clinic. In that role, I assist the
Clinic with different projects, on an as-needed basis. I am and remain familiar with the
Clinic’s operations and its services through these projects and my frequent conversations
with the Clinic’s current Director and owner.
3. When I initially started working at the Clinic, there were three abortion clinics in the
State of Mississippi. Over the years, the other two facilities closed. To the best of my
knowledge, the Clinic is currently—and for some years has been—the only option for
women seeking abortions in Mississippi.
Applying For Admitting Privileges On Behalf of the Clinic’s Physicians
4. I was contacted by the Clinic’s owner in late April to spearhead the process of applying
for admitting privileges on behalf of the Clinic’s physicians. That process had been
started by the Clinic’s regular physician Dr. Doe,1 and Shannon Brewer-Anderson, the
Clinic’s current Director, had taken it over a few days earlier, but it quickly became
apparent that it would be a time and resource intensive task. I was told that they wanted
my help because Ms. Brewer-Anderson has many other responsibilities and the Clinic
wanted to do everything it could to be in compliance with House Bill 1390 (“H.B. 1390”)
when it took effect.

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Plaintiffs are using a pseudonym to refer to the physician out of concern for his safety and privacy. Dr. Doe has
been providing abortions to women at the Clinic for several years, and has recently experienced an increase in
harassment by anti-abortion extremists. Among other things, in the last two years, he has received several
threatening telephone calls to his home and the homes of his family members and has been followed out of the
Clinic and to other locations by anti-abortion extremists.

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5. At the time H.B. 1390 was signed into law the only physician who regularly provided
abortion care to women at the Clinic was Dr. Doe. Dr. Doe is not a full-time resident of
Mississippi, and so he has to fly in periodically to provide care to women.
6. Thus, when Ms. Brewer-Anderson initially began this process, and when I first took over,
it was to secure privileges only for Dr. Doe. However, since that time, Dr. Willie Parker
has joined the Clinic’s medical staff and began providing abortions at the Clinic on June
18, 2012. Therefore, I am currently seeking privileges on behalf of Dr. Parker as well.
7. When I took over the application process, Dr. Doe and Ms. Brewer-Anderson had already
begun completing the application for Dr. Doe to receive privileges at Central Mississippi
Medical Center (“CMMC”). However, because it was far from certain that CMMC
would grant the necessary privileges, upon taking over the project I immediately began
reaching out to the remaining eleven hospitals in the three surrounding counties: (1) St.
Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital; (2) Select Specialty Hospital; (3) Regency
Hospital; (4) G.V. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center; (5) Whitefield Medical
Surgical Hospital; (6) River Oaks; (7) Woman’s Hospital; (8) Crossgates River Oaks
Hospital; (9) University Medical Center; (10) Baptist Medical Center; (11) Madison
County Medical Center. To the best of my knowledge, these are all of the hospitals in the
three counties surrounding the Clinic.
8. Detailed below is the diligent and extensive effort I have made since May 1, 2012 and
continue to make, to obtain privileges for the Clinic’s physicians. Those efforts revealed
that of the twelve hospitals located near the Clinic, four hospitals would not be able to
provide privileges because of the limited services the hospitals provide, and at least one
hospital would not be able to provide privileges because of its religious affiliation. Thus,

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of the initial twelve identified, only seven hospitals could possibly grant the necessary
privileges. It is possible that one of those hospitals will ultimately provide privileges to
the Clinic’s physicians. It is clear, however, that despite all of the efforts over the past
two months, none will provide privileges by July 1, 2012.
9. The application process for obtaining hospital privileges is very time and resource
intensive. Each application requires an enormous amount of information to be provided
and for the Doctor to attach many documents, including, among other things: (1) records
of TB screening results within the past 12 months; (2) passport photos; and (3) photo
copies of board certification, social security card, and any continuing medical education
certificates.

Additionally, most applications include a separate delineated clinical

privileges list, which requires the applicants to check the box next to each “privilege”
they are requesting.
10. Four applications, and one pre-application, have been completed and submitted for Dr.
Doe. I have been working to complete the applications for Dr. Parker. However, Dr.
Parker only started providing care at the Clinic on June 18, 2012, and because Dr. Parker
practices out of state, and is extremely busy with his practice, it has been difficult to
gather all the necessary information and documentation.

Nonetheless, I have been

diligently working with Dr. Parker and should be submitting his application for privileges
at CMMC no later than June 29, 2012.

I hope to have the rest of Dr. Parker’s

applications submitted imminently.
Hospitals That Cannot Provide Privileges to the Clinic’s Physicians
11. On May 1, 2012, I spoke with Heather Muzzi, the Manager of Medical Staff Services at
St. Dominic- Jackson Memorial Hospital (“St. Dominic’s”) about the possibility of the

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Clinic’s physicians obtaining privileges at her hospital. However, as detailed below, it
quickly became clear this would not be an option for the Clinic’s physicians. While it
offers “active” and “courtesy” privileges to physicians, before a physician could even
receive an application, she or he would be required to provide evidence of a willingness
to abide by the Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives for Health Care Facilities.
12. In a letter dated May 23, 2012, Robert L. “Buster” Mobley, M.D., Vice President of
Medical Affairs and Quality at the hospital explained that these directives instruct that:
“[a]bortion . . . is never permitted. Every procedure whose sole immediate effect
is the termination of pregnancy before viability is an abortion . . . Catholic health
institutions are not to provide abortion services, even based upon the principle of
material cooperation. In this context, Catholic health care institutions need to be
concerned about the danger of scandal in any association with abortion
providers.”
13. The Clinic’s physicians cannot agree to abide by these Directives, because they provide
abortions and intend to continue doing so. Accordingly, I did not further pursue seeking
privileges at St. Dominic’s on behalf of the Clinic’s physicians.
14. On May 1, 2012, I called the G.V. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center. A
Human Resources associate named Monique advised me that that hospital provides care
to veterans only and does not employ obstetrician/gynecologists. Therefore, it is my
understanding that it would not be able to provide privileges for the Clinic’s abortion
providers.
15. Similarly, on that same day, I explored trying to get privileges for Dr. Doe at Select
Specialty Hospital Jackson and Regency Hospital. Initially, I was unable to reach Jess

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Brasher, head of Business Development for both hospitals, but I left a voicemail
requesting she return my call as soon as possible. On May 2, 2012 I spoke with Ms.
Brasher and she informed me that both hospitals were extended care facilities that accept
patients only through referrals from other hospitals. Moreover, she explained to me that
those hospitals do not offer “admitting” or “staff” privileges because they only handle
patients from surrounding hospitals for long term acute care.
16. Whitfield Medical Surgical Hospital is the State Mental Health Facility and does not
employ ob/gyn physicians. Therefore, it is my understanding that it would not be able to
provide privileges for the Clinic’s physicians.
Hospitals That Could Possibly Provide Privileges to the Clinic’s Physicians
River Oaks and Woman’s Hospitals
17. On May 1, 2012 I called Rebecca Wilson, at River Oaks and Woman’s Hospitals to
inquire about obtaining physician privileges at both locations. I learned that physicians
would have to complete the application and return it with a $200 application fee and that
once it is received, the application would be given to a committee for review.

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approved by the committee the physician would then be recommended to the board of
trustees for final approval. She also informed me that applications should be handled
immediately, but that the board meets only on the first Monday of every month. Ms.
Wilson could not say how long it would take to process an application or whether it was
at all possible to have completed the process by July 1, 2012.
18. It is my understanding that in 2006 the Clinic attempted to obtain admitting privileges for
another one of its physicians at those hospitals, but that the physician’s application was
denied “because the nature of [the physicians] proposed medical practice at the hospital

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[was] inconsistent with hospital policies and practices on elective abortions.” A true and
correct copy of this letter is attached to this Declaration as Exhibit A. Despite this
knowledge, I still have made and continue to make my best efforts to obtain privileges at
River Oaks and Woman’s Hospitals for the Clinic’s current physicians.
19. I completed and mailed the applications to River Oaks and Woman’s Hospital on behalf
of Dr. Doe on June 13, 2012. I am diligently working on Dr. Parker’s applications and
should have them submitted on his behalf imminently.
Crossgates River Oaks Hospital
20. On May 2, 2012 I contacted Crossgates River Oaks Hospital. I spoke with Brandon
Downey, the Medical Staff Coordinator. I learned that Crossgates River Oaks Hospital
could provide admitting and staff privileges, but that it customarily takes approximately
three months to make a decision on a privileges application.
21. After our initial conversation, I tried to contact Mr. Downey on several occasions.
However, after many attempts I finally connected with a woman named Becky Wallace
who informed me that Mr. Downey no longer worked at the Hospital. She told me that
she had taken over for Mr. Downey and I could direct my questions regarding the
application for privileges through her.
22. At first, Ms. Wallace stated that Dr. Doe would not be able to get privileges because he
was not a board-certified og/gyn. However, once I assured her that he is, she agreed to
send me an application for him. Like the applications for River Oaks and Woman’s
Hospital, these applications required a significant amount of information and
documentation. I completed the application for Dr. Doe and submitted it on his behalf on

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June 13, 2012. I am diligently working on Dr. Parker’s application and should have it
submitted imminently.
University Medical Center
23. On May 1, 2012 I also contacted University Medical Center (“UMC”). I was initially
directed to the ob/gyn department where I spoke with Bretta Blackman, who informed me
that the clinic did offer “affiliate admitting privileges” and that to begin the process to
obtain such privileges, I needed to speak with the head of the ob/gyn department, Dr.
Owens. Therefore, I called and left a message with the Dr. Owens’ Secretary indicating
that in accordance with newly enacted H.B. 1390, I was seeking information about
obtaining “admitting” and “staff” privileges for the Clinic’s physician urgently.

When

Dr. Owens’ secretary returned my call, she advised me that Dr. Owens’ would not be able
to discuss this matter with me until May 31, 2012.
24. I spoke with Dr. Owens on May 31, 2012 about obtaining privileges at UMC for the
Clinic’s physicians. Dr. Owens indicated that a request for an application had to be in
writing from the physician seeking privileges. Furthermore, the request should include
whether the physician would be able to provide any additional services, such as teaching,
at the hospital. She also informed me that it usually takes two to three months for the
hospital to complete its process. Thus, I learned that even if I submitted the application
that day, it would be virtually impossible to obtain privileges for the Clinic’s regular
physician by July 1, 2012.
25. Following Dr. Owens’s instructions, Dr. Doe sent a letter to Dr. Owens on May 25, 2012,
requesting an application and explaining that he had vast experience in both medical and
surgical pregnancy termination and would be well qualified to offer instruction and

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supervision in this training area.

Dr. Owens never responded to Dr. Doe’s letter.

Therefore, on June 22, 2012 I emailed Dr. Owens indicating how urgent it was that we
receive an application as soon as possible. I still have not received a response.
Baptist Medical Center
26. On May 1, 2012, I also contacted Baptist Medical Center (“BMC”) and spoke with
Theresa Ayala in Medical Staff Services. Ms. Ayala informed me that BMC offered
admitting privileges for physicians, but that before a physician could apply for privileges
he or she would be required to complete a pre-application.

She also informed me that

the pre-application would need to include a letter from a current BMC physician
indicating that they would cover the applicant’s patients when the applicant was
unavailable.

She advised me that the credentials committee at BMC reviews pre-

applications on the second Tuesday of each month, and only sends an application to those
physicians whose pre-application it approves. Ms. Ayala could not give me a definite
date by which the Clinic’s physicians could expect to receive privileges but stated that it
took approximately three months to process the final application.
27. I completed the pre-application for Dr. Doe and he submitted it to BMC on June 11,
2012. Since Dr. Doe is not familiar with any BMC staff physicians, upon submitting the
pre-application, he requested that Ms. Ayala forward a list of BMC physicians so that he
would be able to contact the physicians to obtain the proper coverage and complete the
pre-application process. Ms. Ayala did not respond to Dr. Doe’s request. Therefore, on
June 22, 2012, I wrote to Ms. Ayala to remind her of the tremendous pressure the Clinic
was under to obtain privileges for its physicians and requesting she provide me with the
list of BMC physicians as soon as possible. I still have not received a response.

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Madison County Medical Center
28. Also, on May 1, 2012 I attempted to contact Sarah Stevens at Madison County Medical
Center (“MCMC”), but was only able to leave her a message. She left a message for me at
the Clinic later that evening. I called and left messages for her twice the next morning.
29. After several weeks of back and forth, Ms. Stevens and I were finally able to connect.
However, it wasn’t until June 22, 2012 that I received the application for MCMC’s “Medical
Staff Appointment & Clinical Privileges.” However, it did not include the “Delineation of
Privileges Form,” which Ms. Stevens indicated I had to request separately for the specific
specialty the physicians were requesting privileges for.

I have started to complete the

application for Dr. Doe and Dr. Parker and plan on submitting them as soon as possible.
***
30. Given all of my efforts and the voluminous paperwork that I have submitted on behalf of
the Clinic’s physicians to the various hospitals in the surrounding three counties, I am
hopeful that ultimately they will obtain the necessary privileges.

However, from my

conversations with the staff at those hospitals, I believe that it is extremely unlikely, if not
impossible, for the Clinic’s physicians to receive privileges at a local hospital by July 1,
2012.

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