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Posted on 05/01/2007 5:42:17 AM PDT by NYer
The Connecticut state Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday April 25 that would require all hospitals — including the four Catholic facilities — to provide the Plan B emergency contraceptive to rape victims. The abortifacient drug is also known as the morning after pill. “This bill is a violation of the separation of Church and State,” wrote Bishops Henry Mansell of Hartford and William Lori of Bridgeport in a letter to lawmakers on Wednesday. “The Catholic Bishops of Connecticut are responsible for establishing and determining what moral guidelines Catholic institutions should follow; not the Connecticut General Assembly.” “Senate Bill 1343 should contain language that respects the religious beliefs of Catholic hospitals and not force them to cooperate, either directly or through a third-party contract, in an abortion,” they said. The bill, which passed 32-3, now heads to the House, where it appears likely to pass, reported the Journal Inquirer. The bill allows hospitals to first give patients a pregnancy test. Those with religious or other objections could hire an outside physician to administer the contraceptive rather than assign that duty to hospital staff. The Connecticut Catholic Conference rejected the measure, saying that hiring a physician outside of regular staff would not undo the ethical concern. "It is clear to us that this approach would involve the hospital in a way that would violate Catholic moral principles of cooperation," the bishop wrote. "It would still involve Catholic hospitals in the performance of early abortions by administering Plan B when the medication cannot act solely as a contraceptive." The state's four Catholic hospitals — St. Francis, St. Raphael, St. Vincent, and St. Mary — do not provide the contraceptive if a woman is ovulating or pregnant. The Catholic hospitals have argued that the Plan B contraceptive could cause an abortion by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg. Catholic teaching holds that human life begins at conception. “Catholic hospitals provide emergency contraception to rape victims in the vast majority of cases,” the bishops noted in their letter. “In fact, it is an extreme rarity when this medication would not be provided.” Senate Minority Leader Louis DeLuca (R-Woodbury), Sen. Daniel Debicella (R-Shelton), and Donald DeFronzo (D-New Britain) opposed the bill. DeLuca had proposed an amendment, which was endorsed by the Catholic Conference, would require every hospital to have a written protocol for dealing with rape victims. Hospitals would be allowed to refer such patients to other facilities, but would have to report their reasons for doing so to the Department of Public Health. “Catholic hospitals, in those rare cases, would provide the patient information on where the medication is available and provide transportation to another hospital if the patient requests a transfer. Outside rape crisis counselors are also available from outside the hospitals if the patient requests their support,” the bishops said. DeLuca did not succeed in getting the amendment passed.
The 4 Catholic hospitals should close their doors until the law is suspended.
I would just shut down the hospital, if I were them.
Where are the separation of church and state folks?
Closing down their ER would be enough,I believe.
The hospital should stop taking public money in any shape or form and then do as they please.
Well that’s my coffee-spewing news for the day.
“I would just shut down the hospital, if I were them.”
Fantastic idea. Kill some more people.
I agree if they all closed the ER’s they would be able to show that they too have power.
They conveniently ignore the fact that these hospitals are operated with huge amounts of taxpayer money. If the Church is running hospitals exclusively with its own money, and with the money of self-pay and privately insured patients, then it should not be subject to interference from government. As long as they run the hospitals with taxpayers' dollars, they have to follow the taxpayers' rules, just like any other institution that uses taxpayers' dollars.
I am under the impression that Catholic hospitals would just have to refer the rape victims to another hospital.
To give a trival analogy, this is a bit like requiring a Kosher restaurant serve ham and pork. Someone should know enefre to go to a Catholic hospital for such purposes. But, indeed, what is coming up is the demand that every hospital provide abortion services.
Not, apparently, according to this law.
DeLuca had proposed an amendment, which was endorsed by the Catholic Conference, would require every hospital to have a written protocol for dealing with rape victims. Hospitals would be allowed to refer such patients to other facilities, but would have to report their reasons for doing so to the Department of Public Health.“Catholic hospitals, in those rare cases, would provide the patient information on where the medication is available and provide transportation to another hospital if the patient requests a transfer. Outside rape crisis counselors are also available from outside the hospitals if the patient requests their support,” the bishops said.
DeLuca did not succeed in getting the amendment passed.
Yours is the best answer of the day.
Want to put these bishops in a tizzy?
Tell them that it’s the illegal aliens that want the abortions.
Typical socialist bigots running CT, it seems.
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