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.
May God have mercy on the souls of the politicians that voted for this bill. Especially the pharisees pretending to be Catholics.
>> Then you certainly won’t mind if university and independent research facilities that rely heavily on government funds do embryonic stem cell research. <<
The constitution recognizes a freedom of religion. It does not recognize a freedom to engage in morally abhorrent forms of commerce, even if one does not recognize embryonic stem cell research for what it is: developing a market for the farming human body parts.
(That’s the idiocy of the embryonic stem cell debate: So you’re not killing any human beings, but the ends of the research is creating an industry which would offset the financial cost of destroying human beings.)
>> As it stands now, these facilities have to spend a lot of extra money and go through all sorts of inefficient contortions to keep an absolute wall between their main operations that receive government funding and the small parts which involve embryonic stem cell research and don’t get any federal funding. <<
They have to establish that federal funds are not being used to promote stem cell research. Besides, there’s a very simple solution: don’t do the research. Yes, Bush is asserting that no-one should ever do such research, and he is preventing the government from being complicit in evil. He is anti-stem-cell research, not just anti-choice on the issue of stem cell research. Likewise, the Connecticut legislature is pro-abortion, not just pro-choice on the issue of abortion, and that’s what is so reprehensible. But while there is a right to religious expression, there is no right to farm human embryos. So not only is the Connecticut legislature promoting abortion, they are also uniquely violating the seperation of church and state.
>> This is all due to Catholic and other religion-based forces organizing to get a law passed prohibiting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Once they got the law passed, they demanded it be enforced to the letter, notwithstanding the beliefs of the researchers in all the facilities. <<
Tough sh**. If you don’t like it, vote for someone else. The issues are, as a matter of law, not similar. Did you ever think maybe they would never have gotten funding for the lab equipment in the first place, if the voters knew that their support for the funding was going to aid acts they considered evil?
BESIDES, YOU MISS MY ENTIRE POINT:
A University which accepts grants is a creature of the state; the state is earmarking funds towards that university. A Catholic hospital is not. A Catholic hospital would be more comparable to a private institution that did not apply for state grants, but merely accepted state-funded tuition payments, such as scholarships or loans.
I would compare them to Roman pagans, not Pharisees. Any Catholic hospital which doesn’t shut its doors would be the Pharisees.
>> I’m not treating the Catholic hospitals like anything. I have nothing to do with this. I simply think closing the doors would be moronic. Just refuse to provide Plan B and battle it out in the legislature and in the media. <<
There would be no battle. The state would simply refuse payment on the hundreds of millions of dollars it owes the hospitals for innumerable other procedures, until, after losing hundreds of millions of dollars, the hospitals close their doors, anyway.
Besides... the religion forum is alternative to breaking news when the news is of a primarily religious nature. This is an issue of social policy, that happens to be about religion. What do you want, Joe? A news forum that has been censored of any religious issue?
I can’t imagine it worked either.
Whenever liberals “fix” things, they just screw it up even worse. But somehow they take credit for “caring”.
they should do what the british church is going to do with their being forced to allow gay adoption, simply ignore it the law and take the issue to court.
Censored is such an ugly word. If we have topical forums like activism, religion, news, chat, etc, shouldn't we make an effort to plug the posted articles in to the appropriate topic, especially since the source is a religious one?
Seems like I get smacked around by the mods when I post something in the wrong forum.
Pres. Clinton and his administration didn't allow federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, either. I didn't hear all of this whining then. If embryonic stem cell research is the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel, as its proponents seem to think, then where is all of the private investment that should be pouring in? Why are the researchers begging for federal funds? Why aren't they hitting up potential private donors for money?
An alternative...replace the Catholic names of these hospitals with Allah’s House or Mohammad’s Place and no one from the government will dare tell them to do anything!
I forget, why do we stay here?
To be blunt, you don't know jack. You are making this up. State legistlatures attempting to force Catholic/all hospitals to perform abortions and similar procedures has been going on for DECADES. Long before the embrionic stem cell issue was an issue. California has tried this multiple times and every single time they end up putting an exemption into the law because they knew it ultimately meant closed ERs.
One day, many years from now you will get the fully government controlled health care system you so desire. After all, as you and several others have stated, its the GOVERNMENT'S MONEY and therefore it comes with strings attached. Good, the government will get to provide the one-size fits all health system too. Good luck with that.
for us that would be the years hubby has contributed to NYS teacher’s retirement.
That - and having both sides of the family in this area.
You? :)
““The best option for the Church is to keep the hospitals open and simply refuse to distribute. It will force a confrontation”
“In other words, telling the legislature, “MAKE US!”:
really - are they going to force doctors to perform abortions? How?
Will they forceably shut down the hospitals? And then complain about the lack of health care in the area?
Lockheed, why else? The kids have all moved away, so not much is left here for us. Community service - nah, that wouldn’t keep me. ;^)
You have a reading comprehension problem. The “all” referred to the immediately preceding description of the contortions required of institutions conducting both privately or state funded embryonic stem cell research and other research which is federally funded.
Lockheed....the saving grace, still thriving despite moronic NY legislators.
You must like the EMT work?
I wish I could stomach that sort of thing, but I know I couldn’t.
The reason I use the term “censored” (although not technically accurate because JimRob is not the government) is that “Religion” articles are not visible to people who simply “browse [the] latest articles.”
It’s a matter of interest. Many articles in the religion forum are of interest only for those looking to discuss religious issues, not current events.
Think of your local newspaper. Yes, they have a weekly “Religion” section, but this plainly goes in the News section, not that one.
Full agreement.
Another spiritual Pro-Life ally is recruiting the first born descendants of Abraham—to force abortion in Catholic institutions is like forcing female Islamic vacationers at the beach to wear thong bikinis.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.