Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

CLEVELAND, Ohio- Activists and union advocates picketed University Hospitals at its main campus in downtown, Cleveland, Ohio Wednesday evening and demanded the reinstatement of ousted doctors Lauren Beene and Valerie Fouts Fowler.

Among the groups organizing the protest were the Cuyahoga Democratic Women's Caucus, Mobilize the Vote, and SEIU.

Notably, former Ohio state senator Nina Turner showed up in support of the doctors.

The Dobbs decision stripped America's women of federal protection for abortion and handed authority to legislate abortion and reproductive rights to the respective states. In turn, activist women in Ohio moved quickly to get Issue 1 passed in November of 2023. They say the harassment of Beene and and Fouts Fowler by University Hospitals officials is not surprising and is an establishment tactic designed to silence free speech and to punish women for fighting for women's reproductive and other rights.

University Hospitals claims the doctors were fired for using a database to contact employees in support of union organizing and sending phone texts to other doctors, a pretext for an illegal termination, activists have said.

Activists said Wednesday that the pickets against University Hospitals will continue until justice is served, including the reinstatement of Drs. Beene and Fouts Fowler.

Beene and Foust Fowler have said that patient care is also at issue when doctors who advocate for patients are erroneously fired.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com