Kettering hospital refused to help unmarried woman get pregnant

By Mary McCarty, Staff Writer Updated 8:01 PM Saturday, November 7, 2009

Dayton filmmaker Karri O’Reilly’s last project was a horror flick called “Fertile Ground,” about “a crazy lady out in the country who thinks she’s pregnant.”

The title’s irony isn’t lost on her. O’Reilly, 40, has been trying unsuccessfully to become pregnant. After undergoing nine rounds of artificial insemination, she decided to try in vitro fertilization and called Kettering Reproductive Medicine to schedule an appointment. It seemed a logical move: The clinic bills itself on its Web site as “Dayton’s only full-service reproductive center with all services at one convenient location.”

The receptionist peppered her with routine questions, including, “What is your husband’s name?”

“I don’t have a husband,” O’Reilly replied.

“Oh, we can’t treat you then,” she was told. “Kettering Health Network has a policy against treating unmarried people.”

O’Reilly was stunned. “Are you kidding me?” she asked. “Seriously?”

In the weeks since being denied treatment, she has been anything but silent.

“They’re a religious-based organization and it’s within their rights to make these kinds of decisions — provided they don’t take taxpayer money,” O’Reilly said. “But they do. They take a lot of money from the federal government. That means they can’t be discriminatory in treatment. If you take in a dime of taxpayer money, the rules change.”

The rules may be changing, in fact, because of her vocal opposition. Her complaints to numerous officials prompted Kettering Health Network, which is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist faith, to review its policy. Its network of hospitals includes Kettering, Grandview and Southview Medical Centers as well as Greene Memorial Hospital. Miriam Cartmell, Administrative Director of Women and Children’s Services for Kettering Medical Center, said in a prepared statement, “Like many faith-based organizations, our focus is on offering reproductive medicine service to married couples. We refer requests from individuals to other centers who have historically served these types of requests. We are reviewing our position on this, given the request of this individual.”

O’Reilly said she’s encouraged by the hospital’s decision to revisit the policy. “That’s awesome,” she said. “At least now they will look at it. It’s a step in the right direction.”

O’Reilly, who has served as producer for films such as “Blue Car” and “Saving Shiloh,” has built a successful career and achieved financial stability. A graduate of Wayne High School and the Wright State University film program, she moved to Dayton from Los Angeles four years ago so she could be closer to her parents, Dennis and Lucille O’Reilly, who support her decision. She has upgraded from a 624-square-foot house in L.A. to a 3,500-square-foot home in Grafton Hill. Her two sisters have donated baby gear.

“As far as being in a traditional two-parent family, I would love it too,” she said. At 40, however, she can’t afford to wait any longer: “I’m not the Octomom; I’m not looking for some slot-machine payoff of children. But I’m not going to live my life based on someone’s idealized version of the family.”

She’s not waiting around for Kettering Health Network to change its mind, either; she has already scheduled an appointment with a fertility specialist in Cincinnati. She’s not gay, but she doesn’t think lesbians should be denied treatment. “On their own Web site, Kettering Health Network clearly states they don’t deny treatment or discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, ability to pay or sexual preference, yet this policy clearly discriminates against gay people, if only by default.”

Her crusade, in other words, has become a matter of principle.

“It’s so unjust and such a ridiculously outdated policy,” she said. “Why use homophobia and discrimination on the basis of marital status to keep good loving parents from having children?”

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