Nurses fear reprisal for refusing abortion duties
Posted at 12/02/2011 4:46 PM | Updated as of 12/02/2011 4:46 PM
FAIR LAWN, New Jersey - A New Jersey court has rejected a request for a temporary restraining order to stop the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Hospital (UMDNJ) from meeting with 12 nurses, including 9 Filipinos who have refused to assist in abortion procedures.
UMDNJ was issued a restraining order in November, preventing them from requiring the nurses to assist in abortion procedures.
After the issuance of the restraining order, the hospital sent the nurses a letter, requiring them to attend a meeting before Thanksgiving to discuss possible changes in duties, scheduling, and transfers to other units.
The nurses fear that UMDNJ may be retaliating by planning to reassign them to other units, after they sued the hospital for allegedly forcing them to assist in abortions.
The nurses asked the court last week for another restraining order, to stop the hospital from holding a meeting with them about possible job transfers and other changes.
One of the complainants Fe Esperanza Racpan Vinoya said: “We just wanted them to stop forcing us to assist in the abortion and let us stay in the Same Day Surgery Unit. (We) just (want to) get things going as they were before.”
However, the court rejected the request for a new restraining order, which means UMDNJ may ask the protesting nurses to attend meeting about possible reassignments.
In an emailed statement to Balitang America, UMDNJ Chief of News Services wrote:
“No nurse is compelled to have direct involvement in a procedure to which she or he objects based on his/her cultural values, ethics and/or religious beliefs. We respect those beliefs and have been operating in full compliance with all applicable state and federal laws."
“At the same, we want to find a solution that is in the best interests of the patients we serve and respects the personal beliefs of our nurses," she added.
Since the lawsuit is in progress, UMDNJ Officials declined to make any other comments other than their prepared press statement at this time
The next court date has been moved to December 22.
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