Disagreements between Catholic hospitals and church authorities over the provision of certain reproductive-health related services are becoming more common, a result of economic pressures and the church trying to exert more authority over the hospitals, the Washington Post reports. Catholic hospitals each employ ethics committees to decide how to abide by the church's Ethical and Religious Directives, with the local bishop serving as the final arbiter. The directives specifically bar abortion care and tubal ligation.

According to the Post, conflicts between hospitals and church officials over the directives are on the rise as Catholic and secular health facilities merge and the church tries to enforce its directives on the newly merged facilities. Further, Catholic bishops have been pushing for more influence over hospitals and some religiously affiliated hospitals have disregarded church directives in order to remain competitive (Stein, Washington Post, 1/19). In December 2010, Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix, Ariz., revoked St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center of its Catholic status, saying that the hospital violated Catholic moral teaching by authorizing an abortion to save a pregnant woman's life (Women's Health Policy Report, 12/22/10). Recently, a Catholic bishop in Texas ordered two hospitals to cease offering tubal ligation procedures and an Oregon bishop eliminated a hospital from his diocese for declining to eliminate that service.

Many doctors and women's health advocates also are concerned about Catholic hospitals' treatment of women seeking care for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. In cases where a fetus is not expelled quickly during a miscarriage, some Catholic hospitals will not use drugs or surgical procedures to prevent fatal infections and bleeding in the woman if the fetus still has a heartbeat. Further, some Catholic hospitals will not use drugs or surgically remove an embryo from the fallopian tube if a woman experiences an ectopic pregnancy, opting instead to remove the fallopian tube.

Catholic officials, bioethicists and hospital authorities say that church directives aim to allow the facilities to deliver state-of-the-art care while not violating religious or moral beliefs, the Post reports. According to those officials, it is rare that disagreements between the church and hospitals lead to patients not receiving care.

Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities said, "We have literally hundreds of institutions that care for men, women and children every day and provide excellent care, especially to the poor. We always do so with respect for each and every life in our care."

However, Lois Uttley, head of MergerWatch, which opposes religiously affiliated hospitals taking over secular facilities, said, "Physicians are being told they must refuse to provide certain services even when they believe their refusal would harm their patient and violate established standards of medical care."

"The fact that this happens is simply outrageous and inexcusable," according to Jill Morrison of the National Women's Law Center, which is releasing a report documenting the impact of Catholic directives on 16 hospitals across the country (Washington Post, 1/19)

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

© 2010 National Partnership for Women & Families. All rights reserved.