Hospital saves woman’s life; is told by Catholic leadership not to do it again.
Now, Bishop Thomas Olmstead of the Diocese has written a letter to the hospital in which he doesn’t deny that the procedure saved the woman’s life, but nevertheless deems it morally wrong and asks the hospital to promise that a life-saving abortion “will never occur again at St. Joseph’s Hospital.” That’s right: A religious leader wants a hospital to promise that it will not take measures to save the life of a patient if those measures conflict with what this religious leader believes is morally correct.
Women, I recommend trying to find out what policies are in hospitals in your area, in case you ever need a procedure that conflicts with someone’s morals. Because morals > women’s lives in some places.
Now please excuse me while I go throw up.
Where I grew up, a Catholic hospital is the only hospital in a 60-mile radius that does obstetrics. You can go to obstetricians not in the employ of that hospital, but if you have to go to the hospital while you are pregnant, that is the only place to go. I believe the next nearest facility is also Catholic. This should be terrifying, that women could be denied life-saving care simply because of their hospital’s politics. And let’s be honest: this is nothing but a political issue, because there is nothing pro-life about letting a woman die with her baby still inside her, which is what would have happened if the woman had been denied treatment.
(Source: jaundicedeye, via flyingmintbunny-deactivated2011)
