'They Should Not Be In Business': Abortion Activists Sets Sights on Catholic Hospitals for Pro-Life Stance
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the war on pro-life activists, crisis pregnancy centers, and conservative political leaders has ramped up. And now, pro-abortionists have set their sights on Catholic hospitals, demanding they shut down for protecting the unborn.
According to a 2020 report by Community Catalyst, Catholic-owned or affiliated hospitals in the United States have increased by 22 percent in the last 20 years. And while these hospitals treat patients without discrimination, they cannot "perform or promote" treatments that would harm others.
This includes performing abortions, providing contraception, sterilization, IVF, and euthanasia, in states where it is legal.
Under the directive of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the guiding principle of "first, do no harm" allows for Catholic hospitals to provide high standards of quality care while abstaining from procedures that would impair or destroy healthy bodily functioning.
But their pro-life position makes them a prime target for abortion activists who feel Catholic hospitals present significant hurdles to those seeking to end their pregnancies.
"The religious affiliation of a hospital should not dictate health care. If Catholic hospitals refuse to offer a basic standard of reproductive care, they should not be in business -- and certainly shouldn't be getting government resources or tax breaks," tweeted Jill Filipovic, an abortion activist.
Pro-abortion activists inaccurately maintain that the religious beliefs behind these institutions endanger women suffering from miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies.
"Neither miscarriage care nor treatment for ectopic pregnancy has anything to do with an induced-abortion procedure, which intentionally kills an unborn child," explains Alexandra DeSanctis, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. "Every successful elective abortion has a single aim: to end the life of the child growing in his or her mother's womb.
"What's more, medical professionals acknowledge that induced abortion is never medically necessary to treat a pregnant mother; modern medicine can treat the mother without intentionally killing the child," she added.
A recent article by The Washington Post contends that the growth of Catholic hospitals limits the reproductive care of women in the U.S.
Reproductive rights advocates say there has been a steady erosion of services in both Republican- and Democratic-led states because of the growing dominance of Catholic hospitals," the report shared.
But Timothy P. Carney, senior columnist at The Washington Examiner, argued that it is a "misguided notion" that religious institutions are imposing their standards on others by operating their own institutions according to their moral teachings.
"'Spread of Catholic hospitals' is a funny headline because Catholics were the ones who invented hospitals," he wrote. "But of course, the major media have chosen to make themselves part of that culture-war offensive."
Democratic leaders push the narrative that America now has a "healthcare crisis" because the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. But Madeleine Kearns, a fellow at the Independent Women's Forum, writes that the true crisis is the war on life.
"Imagine being so singularly committed to progressive dogma that you would prefer a hospital close than continue being Catholic, she wrote in an op-ed for The National Review.
"The true crisis is social and moral. Catholic hospitals continue to be a source of healing and hope for millions of Americans, as do Catholic charities serving women in crisis. A society so committed to the mutilation, manipulation, and destruction of human life that it would shut down successful hospitals and disqualify competent clinicians for following their consciences has gone terribly wrong," she added.
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