"Catholic" Colorado Governor Signs Bill Mandating Catholic Hospitals Provide Abortion Drug

Life Site News ^ | 3/16/2007 | Gudrun Schultz

[RosieCotton]

Good post.

[mockingbyrd]

Exactly.

They don't see the stupidity of a law like this. Force hospitals to ignore the precepts of their religion and guess what, they close their doors. Then where does that leave you? You still can't hand out abortaficiants like candy (and no, the morning after pill is not just for rape victims, in fact studies show most use it as birth control...not back up birth control) and a whole bunch more people are up a creek.

[markomalley]

Allowing the morning after pill doesn't make someone a CINO.

You're right.

It could make them a:

• excommunicated Catholic
• dissident Catholic
• non-practicing Catholic
• Catholic who has defected from the Church
• scandalous Catholic
• rebellious Catholic
• seriously-in-grave-error Catholic
• ex-Catholic
• un-Catholic
• late Catholic
  But, chances are, it makes the politician a
• Catholic In Name Only

Particularly when the politician is cautioned by his bishop prior to taking the action...

[Lesforlife]

A child should never be killed for the crime of his father!

[Red Boots]

The major, regional hospital on the western slope of Co is a Catholic hospital. There are only a few others, all very small, (and not very good, I've heard from doctors), and they all feed to St Mary's. I wonder what they'll do.

[freeangel]

"this is easy"

I like your idea. Too bad the Catholic church likes money better. Ask the kennedys.

[PrepareToLeave]

Colorado must not have any other problems. Who in the hell does this guy think he is...mandating murder. The Church and the hospital better stand their ground for Jesus, period.

[jwh_Denver]

Yeah, those Roman Catholics have got to keep this false doctrine of eternal hell going since it's made so much money for them.

[Sweet Hour of Prayer]

Your name confuses me.... LtdGovt. And yet, you don't have a problem with the state mandating to a private hospital that they provide an abortion option?

[avg_freeper]

I've been doing some research. Here's a link to a pdf of the bill in question:

SENATE BILL 07-060

A good bit of it consists of declaration statements like:

(1) The general assembly hereby finds that:

(a) One of every six women in the United States and one of every four women in Colorado will be the victim of a sexual assault;

But I find this part interesting:

(a) "EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION" MEANS A DRUG APPROVED BY THE FEDERAL FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION THAT PREVENTS PREGNANCY AFTER SEXUAL INTERCOURSE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE PILLS; EXCEPT THAT "EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION" SHALL NOT INCLUDE RU-486, MIFEPRISTONE, OR ANY OTHER DRUG OR DEVICE THAT INDUCES A MEDICAL ABORTION.

What emergency contraception are they going to require if it must not induce an abortion? A time machine? Or are they just using some arbitrary technical definition that will still allow an abortifacient?

Here's the primary part of it:

(2) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ALL HEALTH CARE FACILITIES THAT ARE LICENSED PURSUANT TO THIS PART 1 AND PROVIDE EMERGENCY CARE TO SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS SHALL AMEND THEIR EVIDENCE-COLLECTION PROTOCOLS FOR THE TREATMENT OF SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS TO INCLUDE INFORMING THE SURVIVOR IN A TIMELY MANNER OF THE AVAILABILITY OF EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION AS A MEANS OF PREGNANCY PROPHYLAXIS AND EDUCATING THE SURVIVOR ON THE PROPER USE OF EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION AND THE APPROPRIATE FOLLOW-UP CARE.

[ga medic]

Yes, I agree. However, most Americans (even some pro-life) believe that abortion should be allowed in cases of rape. Also, the morning after pill is considered contraception and not abortion. I know there are many that believe otherwise, but the vast majority of the public will consider it contraception, because it is a higher dosage of hormones found in the pill.

I strongly disagree with forcing a Catholic Hospital to provide these services. To me, this is the biggest issue. However, most politicians, including pro-life politicians have supported the use of EC. I am not surprised that this bill was signed.

[Cicero]

Wow. I wouldn't want to be in Ritter's shoes when Archbishop Chaput comes down on him. And I think he will. He has a great record for speaking out on behalf of the Church.

[ELS]

Apparently Ritter hasn't read or even skimmed Sacramentum Caritatis.

So much for their dogma of separation of church and state.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Catholic Colorado Governor Signs Bill Mandating Catholic Hospitals Provide Abortion Drug

Colorado Catholic hospitals must offer abortifacient drugs to victims of rape under a controversial new law signed by Gov. Bill Ritter Thursday, the Denver Post reported earlier today.

BS. Gudrun Schultz should know better, as should freepers, than to believe anything written in the Denver Compost. The truth as correctly reported by the Rocky Mountain News:

"The law does not require them to dispense the drug, which is now sold without a prescription."

"Colorado's measure allows individual health care workers to opt out of providing the information, based on religious or moral beliefs. But all hospitals must have someone on staff who can provide rape victims with the information."

'"We are pleased to see the inclusion of a moral/religious exemption to health care professionals who do not wish to provide information concerning emergency contraception, and the specification which states hospitals shall not be required to provide emergency contraception to a pregnant woman," officials at Centura Health, which represents seven Catholic hospitals in the state, said in a statement Thursday.

'The Colorado Catholic Conference referred to Feb. 1 statements issued by the state's three bishops, including Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, which said that while the bill couldn't be considered "good" legislation, it still allowed Catholic medical facilities "to cooperate without violating their Catholic character."'

Governor S***tter was a lousy Catholic while serving as a missionary in Africa, was a lousy DA in Denver, will turn out to be a lousy Governor and continues to slip further down the CINO slope leading to the fires of Gehenna.

[RavenATB]

"Your name confuses me.... LtdGovt. "

Perhaps it means "government limiting the number of babies who survive"

[Pinkbell]

That's a little bit better. I'd prefer they not have to provide the information at all as the hospital is Catholic, and it goes against Catholic beliefs. A person should be aware of that when choosing a hospital, and if they disagree, they can go to a nonreligious hospital. As a Catholic, morally, he should not have signed that bill. I feel that bill puts us one step closer to the government gaining some control of religious institutions to impose secular beliefs.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[murphE]

Forget about writing to the governor, Catholics should write to Archbishop Chaput. Everyone cheered Archbishop Chaput when he came out with this stance, let's see if he backs up his words.

Archbishop Chaput cannot claim to be surprised by this development.

[Quiet Man Jr.]

LtdGovt wrote: "Too bad, but 80% of the population supports forcing pharmacists and hospitals to provide emergency contraception, whether you like it or not... I thought being pro-life was about abortion. But I guess now, it includes the morning-after pill too. Maybe in a few days, it will include birth control and a host of other issues."

So LtdGovt's moniker isn't accurate, is it? Just like patients have the right to refuse medical care, so hosptials have the right to refuse providing deadly drugs. In fact it is their duty to save lives, not take them. But EC can act as an abortifacient so the government has no right to require or enforce this.