Abortion Gag Order Challenged

New York Times (May 3, 2016): Silence Order on Abortions Violates Law, Doctor Says, by Erik Eckholm:

Diane J. Horvath-Cosper, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Med-Star Washington Hospital Center has filed a federal civil rights complaint against Med-Star in the wake of the hospital's order that she cease speaking out in favor of abortion liberty.  The hospital has required Dr. Horvath-Cosper to turn down "several requests for interviews or articles or risk losing her job."  The hospital says that the order is a "sensible precaution" because it fears violence in the current fraught climate.  Dr. Horvath-Cosper and some of her colleagues believe that staying silent about abortion "feeds the drive to stigmatize and restrict abortion."  "'I don't think the way to deal with bullies is to cower and pull back," she said.'"  The chair of Physicians for Reproductive Health, a national advocacy group, commented that physicians who speak out about abortion are making a personal decision based on privacy and risk.  If the complaint moves forward, the hospital risks losing its federal funding.