As part of the Council of UC Faculty Associations, the Davis Faculty Association has taken an active role in resisting the planned partnership between the University of California system and Dignity Healthcare. Such an affiliation would have been problematic for a number of reasons. “Of particular concern to critics is that the UCSF doctors have to sign God-affirming statements when working at the Dignity Health hospitals. Some, like St. Francis, require signing the ‘Statement of Common Values,’ agreeing not to perform abortions or procedures like in-vitro fertilization, where conception occurs outside a woman’s body. Others, including St. Mary’s, require the more restrictive ‘Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,’ which describes certain procedures, including sterilization, as ‘intrinsically evil.'” (source: The San Francisco Chronicle.)
We have learned today that the concerted and united efforts of many (including the Faculty Association) have been successful in getting UCSF to give up on its plan to affiliate with Dignity Health. This is an especially important fight, and victory, in light of current efforts (some successful) to turn back the clock on Roe vs. Wade.