Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/30780
Not only is the Catholic laity having trouble with the bishops’ directives, but so are some Catholic nuns. Nuns have been known to serve as clinic escorts for women seeking abortion. Association of the U.S. (CHA)—the umbrella under which Catholic hospitals operate—will have to go along. Although CHA voiced its support for President Obama’s health-care reform and CHA president Sister Carol Keehan defended the Phoenix abortion decision, the asso- ciation agreed in January with the U.S. Conference of Bishops that individual bishops—not hospital administra- tors or health-care professionals—have the final say in interpreting Catholic directives. Catholic-affiliated physicians are now so muzzled that several approached for this article could not get clearance to speak to Ms.However, in studies on Catholic health re- strictions, one doctor admitted to taking patients aside and secretly reviewing treatment options forbidden by her hospital. Another confessed to severing the umbilical cord of a woman with an extremely rare, non-viable pregnancy in the vagina. A third, presented with a patient who was miscarrying, opted not to check fetal heart tones so the possibility that there was a fetal heartbeat could never be found in hospital records. WHAT’S NOT COVERED If you seek any of the following health-care services at a Catholic hospital, you’re probably out of luck because of directives from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. • abortion—even in cases of rape, incest or a woman’s life being at risk • contraception (condoms, diaphragms, IUDs, vaginal rings, Depo-Provera, birth-control pills) • ectopic pregnancy treatment • in-vitro fertilization • miscarriage completion • prenatal diagnoses/genetic counseling that may lead to abortion if health problems are discovered • emergency contraception as part of sexual-assault aftercare • sterilization (tubal ligation for women and vasectomies for men) Catholic hospitals also refuse to conduct embryonic stem cell research and fetal tissue experimentation, and will not necessarily follow end-of-life directives if they conflict with their moral dogma. H OW DID WE GET TO THE point where 258 right-wing bishops—all (supposedly) celibate male clerics—are prohibiting doc- tors from practicing medicine and denying women essential reproductive care? The debacle starts with anti-choice legislation. The U.S. Congress started to pass “conscience clauses” pushed by the Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion forces in the immediate wake of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in 1973. Today, these laws apply not only to physicians and nurses who oppose abor- tion, but to entire institutions whose “consciences” allow them to withhold medically indicated care. Even as recently as 2008, the George W. Bush adminis- tration issued sweeping regulations to give health-care workers the right to refuse to take part in any procedure that “violates” their religious beliefs. The Obama admin- istration moved to reverse this policy in February (making it explicit that contraception is not covered by conscience provisions), but 47 states and the District of Columbia now allow individuals or entities to refuse women repro- ductive health services, information or referrals. At the same time, other anti-abortion legislative proposals are becoming pervasive at both state (see Short Takes, p. 17) and federal levels. Catholic hard-liners and other anti- abortion agitators have succeeded in getting abortion cover- age banned from federal health plans and Medicaid (except in cases of rape, incest or a threat to the woman’s life), and anti-abortion legislators in the Republican-controlled U.S. House have recently introduced a frightening flurry of laws to hobble women’s health even more. All of these proposals are heartily promoted and endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. However, as Jon O’Brien, president of the D.C.-based Catholics for Choice, points out, “The Bishops’ views don’t reflect those of Catholics as a whole.” Polls show that Catholic women are as likely as other women to have abortions and use contraception, that 50 percent of Catholics support abortion when a woman and doctor de- termine that it is appropriate, that 63 percent support in- surance coverage for contraception and that 78 percent think abortion should be possible when pregnancy is the result of a rape. Not only is the Catholic laity having trouble with the bishops’ directives, but so are some Catholic nuns. Sister Beth Rindler, codirector of the Detroit-based National Coalition of American Nuns, says that what doctors did in Phoenix was “a model of compassionate care.” Nuns have been known to serve as clinic escorts for women seeking 34 | SPRING 2011 www.feminist.org