Protesters: Keep hospital in alliance

Many of the demonstrators were from two local churches.

By WES ALLISON

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 1, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Just one month before Bayfront Medical Center is to leave BayCare Health System, protesters converged on City Hall on Thursday demanding that the City Council let the hospital stay in the alliance.

Most of the 60-plus placard-carrying demonstrators represented two local Baptist churches and Gibbs Law Firm, which specializes in church-state law. They condemned the St. Petersburg City Council for advocating an "on-demand abortion policy" at Bayfront and said the council erred by not holding public hearings before it essentially forced Bayfront to leave BayCare, an alliance of bay area hospitals.

Protest leaders said they see no legal reason for Bayfront to leave BayCare, and they worry care will suffer, especially for the poor.

"The city has taken a radical, abortion-on-demand approach with a private hospital," said Scott Boggs, pastor of Northside Baptist Church. "It's incredible. It's bad leadership. How much public discussion have we had? None. Absolutely none."

This marked the first public protest since the city-hospital spat first hit the courts in April, and most City Council meetings regarding the issue were poorly attended. Bayfront officials also say it's unlikely that anything could happen at this date to keep it in the alliance.

Boggs said he had tried in the past to meet with city leaders but got nowhere, so last month he asked Gibbs Law Firm in Seminole to look into options. "I guess I just got mad enough," he said.

The Rev. Louis Murphy of Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church said the city should have sought the public's advice and that most people in his parish were unaware of the controversy.

"The media, somebody should have let us know what was going on," Murphy said. "Was it a good business decision on the city's part to force that hand, to force that separation from BayCare? Somebody's going to have to pick up the tab."

Bayfront is private, but it sits largely on city property. It joined BayCare in 1997 and, because of the alliance's two Catholic members, it agreed to end virtually all abortions, stop providing contraception and make other changes to comply with Catholic doctrine.

The city and several women's and civil liberties groups sued on grounds the arrangement violated the separation of church and state. After more than a year of dueling lawsuits and mediation, Bayfront offered to buy its land from the city for $47-million.

The City Council voted against it. With no apparent end to the conflict in sight, BayCare kicked Bayfront out, and the hospital has been working to unravel itself from BayCare and its close partner, St. Anthony's Hospital.

The protesters said they have not heard from the council, but some members, including Chairman Larry Williams, have expressed a willingness to revisit the Bayfront issue.

Even so, Bayfront President and CEO Sue Brody said it would be difficult for the hospital now to reverse course and stay in BayCare. She also maintains care at the hospital will not suffer.

"We have made the commitment to become independent Jan. 1," she said, "and that's what we're focusing on."

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