ACLU Sues U.S. Catholic Bishops Over Denial Of ‘Proper Health Care’

Acton Institute ^ | 12/3/13 | Elise Hilton

[marshmallow]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit against the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) regarding a case in a Muskegon, Mich. hospital. According to the ACLU, Tamesha Means was 18 weeks pregnant in December, 2010, when her water broke. A friend brought her to Mercy Health Partners in Muskegon. Ms. Means subsequently made two more trips to this hospital, and her baby, born prematurely, died.

According to a New York Times piece,

…Dr. Douglas W. Laube, an obstetrician at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, described the care Ms. Means received as “basic neglect.” He added, “It could have turned into a disaster, with both baby and mother dying.”

The A.C.L.U. said it had filed suit against the bishops because there had been several cases in recent years in which Catholic hospital policies on abortion had interfered with medical care

[Cicero]

Murder is not health care.

[Redmen4ever]

As a minority within a majority Protestant country, but under a Constitution that protected Liberty, the Catholics did well. But, now, with the rise of a socialist majority. the Catholics and other conservative religious will become like the Copts of Egypt, marginalized, unable to run hospitals or schools or welfare programs.

[Salvation]

Why do you say that Catholics are a minority? Catholics have more members around the world than any other church.

[Redmen4ever]

I could be wrong, but I think R.I. is the only state in the Union where in R.I. where Catholics once a majority.

[Salvation]

Religion Moderator's Guidelines to Caucus/Prayer/Ecumenical threads

[Godwin1]

The destruction of the Catholic hospitals is a major liberal objective: the idea is that there be NO PLACE IN AMERICA SAFE FOR INNOCENT EARLY STAGE HUMAN BEINGS. The despicable Jan Schakowsky and other local liberals tried to close my local Catholic hospital by yanking its non-profit tax status. So far they have failed.
The danger, with our corrupt politicized court system, is that the Catholics will have to abandon their hospitals. The killing fields will then be universal. Obama care has shown that the Democrats do not believe in First Amendment religious freedom. And the courts are infested with liberal democrats. The Government is sliding further into illegitimacy. What can we do? I'm at a loss......

[Godwin1]

The Times quotes Dr Laube, who unethically comments on a case in which he did not treat or see the patient. The Times correctly describes Laube as a University of Wisconsin physician. The Times does NOT tell you that Laube is an abortionist who has killed numerous innocent early stage human beings in his blood soaked career. The Times does NOT tell you that he help found a pro-abortion lobby group of medically trained killers , Physicians for..... Reproductive Choice. Such a monster would condemn Catholic hospitals, wouldn't he?

[boatbums]

The A.C.L.U. said it had filed suit against the bishops because there had been several cases in recent years in which Catholic hospital policies on abortion had interfered with medical care

If this specific case is being cited as part of the ACLU suits against Catholic hospitals' pro-life stance, they do not have a leg to stand on (not that they do on any others). This case had to do with a young woman who was eighteen weeks pregnant and who experienced a condition known as PROM, preterm premature rupture of membranes. Her "water" broke too early in the pregnancy and the ACLU is contending that the Catholic hospital should have performed an abortion since, according to them, the baby had no chance of survival and continuing the pregnancy would jeopardize the mother's life. HOWEVER, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians:

…when membrane rupture occurs before 37 weeks’ gestation, it is known as preterm PROM. Preterm PROM complicates approximately 3 percent of pregnancies and leads to one third of preterm births. It increases the risk of prematurity and leads to a number of other perinatal and neonatal complications, including a 1 to 2 percent risk of fetal death.

There is no mention at all whether the mother wanted to abort - in which case she should have gone to someplace where they were done, NOT a Catholic hospital - an, as mentioned in the above, babies DO survive even to full term when there has been a risk from PROM. I sincerely hope ALL Christians stand together against this insipid and dishonest attack against all our freedoms including our staunch and immovable support of the right to life of all humans.