ACLU Targets Catholic Hospital Abortion Policy

The American Civil Liberties Union wants the government to force Catholic hospitals to provide emergency abortions and birth control. The Washington Post reported the ACLU sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services following an incident in Phoenix where a hospital had its Catholic status revoked after performing an abortion.

St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center had its Catholic status revoked by local Bishop Thomas Olmsted after he learned the hospital performed an abortion on a woman who was 11 weeks pregnant and had developed a life-threatening condition. According to The Post, a nun involved in the decision was excommunicated.

The Post reported that the ACLU letter, signed by five attorneys, said the “Bishop’s drastic and heavy-handed actions send a chilling message to Catholic hospitals throughout the country, as well as their employees: If hospitals comply with federal law and provide emergency abortion care there will be consequences. The dioceses cannot be permitted to dictate who lives and who dies in Catholic-owned hospitals.”

In July, the ACLU called for a federal investigation of Catholic hospitals for refusals to provide emergency birth control to rape victims and abortions to women having miscarriages, The Post said.