Hospital Mergers and the Threat to Women’s Reproductive Health Services: Applying the Antitrust Laws

Introduction

The increasing frequency of mergers involving religiously-affiliated hospitals represents a growing threat to the availability of women’s reproductive health services. When hospitals governed by religious restrictions on abortion and other reproductive health services merge with other institutions that provide these services, needed health care services are often discontinued, and members of the community lose access to them. One way of challenging these mergers is to use the antitrust laws, which are aimed at preserving vigorous competition between rival producers of goods and services to ensure consumer choice.

Suggested Reading