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Lose-Lose on Abortion; Obama's threat to Catholic hospitals and their very serious counterthreat.
Slate ^ | 24 November 2008 | Melinda Henneberger

Posted on 11/24/2008 8:28:54 PM PST by Lorianne

When I saw the Catholic bishops had declared war on President-elect Obama at their semiannual meeting in Baltimore two weeks ago, my first reaction was pique: Gosh, guys, it isn't even parade day yet, and here you are, all dressed up and ready to rain on it.

Were they in spasm because Obama had won Catholics by nine points? (Nine! A landslide compared with the five by which my co-religionists had favored Bush in '04.) Peeved because even some of the most ardent pro-lifers had broken ranks? (In Colorado, where Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput called Obama "the most committed 'abortion rights' presidential candidate of either major party since the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973,'' it was Catholic voters who turned the state from red to blue.)

...

What in the world were these bishops talking about, claiming that religious freedom in America was under attack? Keep up the hysterics, boys, I thought as I scanned the latest story, and this will be birth control all over again: Your lips are moving but no one can hear you. And the most ludicrous line out of them, surely, was about how, under Obama, Catholic hospitals that provide obstetric and gynecological services might soon be forced to perform abortions or close their doors. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Chicago warned of "devastating consequences" to the health care system, insisting Obama could force the closure of all Catholic hospitals in the country. That's a third of all hospitals, providing care in many neighborhoods that are not exactly otherwise overprovided for. It couldn't happen, could it?

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: abortion; bho2008; catholichospitals; conscienceclause; foca; healthcare
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To: Lorianne

Obama and Congressional liberals in their arrogance and believing Lord Obama to be the overwhelming choice of the nation will push through the “Freedom of Choice Act” and immediately alienate Catholics. I hope the Bishops hold their ground and start by publicly excommunicating all “Catholic” members of Congress and the Administration who support this act. A good start would be Biden, Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Tom Daschle.


41 posted on 11/25/2008 6:41:53 AM PST by The Great RJ ("Mir we bleiwen wat mir sin" or "We want to remain what we are." ..Luxembourg motto)
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To: sarasmom
We currently have a nationwide severe shortage of OB/GYNs.

You can thank the lawyers for that. My mother, now retired, gave up her obstetrics practice due to extremely high malpractice insurance premiums. I'm reasonably sure we lost many other obstetricians as well due to the high insurance premiums.

42 posted on 11/25/2008 7:28:30 AM PST by ELS (Vivat Benedictus XVI!)
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To: Lorianne

He did’nt win Catholics by 9 points. He won CINO’s (Catholics in Name Only) who have effectively auto-excommunicated themselves from their bishop’s flock....the bishops know this.


43 posted on 11/25/2008 7:31:14 AM PST by mo
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To: EDINVA
Actually, doctors should get together and threaten that they will retire from medicine if socialized medicine is forced on them.

The looter administration will be ready to fast track affirmative action "doctors" who will be thrilled to get their Gs 12+. This is about the destruction of the current order.

Prepare for the introduction of the "well qualified" list to medical training.

44 posted on 11/25/2008 7:33:01 AM PST by Stentor (b. July 4, 1776 - d. January 20, 2009 sorely missed.)
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To: goldi
Would it be possible for the government to take those closed hospitals under eminent domain? That’s what I’m worried about.

Anything is possible under eminent domain with a Marxist government.

Two words:

Scorched Earth.

45 posted on 11/25/2008 7:40:27 AM PST by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilization is Aborting, Buggering, and Contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: Stentor

Let’s not forget: the Congress will exempt itself from treatment in the socialized hospitals.

Can you IMAGINE if Teddy Kennedy got his brain tumor or Tim Johnson had his stroke in the UK?


46 posted on 11/25/2008 9:37:53 AM PST by EDINVA
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To: All

(Strong language, violence warning)

Scene at my church for almost two years re: trying to show some Obama’s record and tell them about him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsZpdUUdd3I&feature=related


47 posted on 11/25/2008 9:59:51 AM PST by AliVeritas (Pray, Pray, Pray)
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To: Alex Murphy

I hope you will join me in fervently praying that Catholics become more Catholic.


48 posted on 11/25/2008 12:15:23 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o ("It is our choices, far more than our abilities, that show us what we truly are. " -- J.K.Rowling)
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To: Mad Dawg; Lorianne
"Seriously, I wonder if the hospitals in question could just quit providing OB-GYN services."

I don't have the whole slate of facts on that, but as I understand it, that's exactly what happened in Ontario and maybe throughout Canada decades ago.

My own OB/GYN here in East Tennessee is a Canadian, used to practice in Ontario but was told he had to get out of his specialty if he would't do abortions. Thatr's why he came down to TN. He told me (years ago) that NO CATHOLIC HOSPITAL in Ontario is allowed to provide gyn services. And they cannot be licensed for matenity.

49 posted on 11/25/2008 12:23:55 PM PST by Mrs. Don-o ("It is our choices, far more than our abilities, that show us what we truly are. " -- J.K.Rowling)
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To: AliVeritas

The “ignorant” in this past election are not to be excused.

They were WILFULLY ignorant.


50 posted on 11/25/2008 12:25:53 PM PST by MrB (The 0bamanation: Marxism, Infanticide, Appeasement, Depression, Thuggery, and Censorship)
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To: verity
The bishops cannot close the hospitals without the cooperation of the hospital’s Board of Directors.

I don't think Paprocki would have made the statement if he didn't think he could plausibly carry it out. The Board of Directors may have wide powers over how the institution is run, but if the Bishop has control over whether they are allowed to continue to occupy the building, he retains the nuclear option.

51 posted on 11/25/2008 1:05:05 PM PST by PapaBear3625 (Question O-thority)
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To: goldi
Would it be possible for the government to take those closed hospitals under eminent domain? That’s what I’m worried about.

Of course, which would go a long way towards socialized medicine in this country.

The irony is, people on this board critisize Europeans for their non-religiousness. And yet, most European countries have lower abortion rates and more restrictive abortion laws than the US.

52 posted on 11/25/2008 1:12:58 PM PST by Citizen Blade (What would Ronald Reagan do?)
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