A recent University of Pennsylvania study shows that many Catholic hospitals in the U.S. do not prescribe emergency contraception (EC) to rape victims, despite the fact that EC is considered a standard treatment for these women. The survey, published in the September American Journal of Public Health, targeted 27 Catholic hospitals and 30 non-Catholic hospitals. […]
In a vote of 416 to 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution “objecting to” the See Change Campaign, led by Catholics for a Free Choice, that aims to change the status of the Holy See at the United Nations. Since 1964, the Vatican has held “permanent observer” status in the U.N., […]
The Catholic Church in Washington, DC is protesting a proposed bill that would require health care insurers to cover prescribed contraceptives. The bill would allow women rather than their insurers to determine what health services they can use and it also would provide for mandated coverage of most contraceptives. A request from the auxiliary bishop […]
In San Diego, George W. Bush met privately with representatives of the Catholic Health Association of the United States to discuss healthcare reform. Governor Bush and the Catholic healthcare leaders discussed their mutual agreement on an anti-abortion platform and the potential of passing regulatory and legislative protection to ensure that Catholic health facilities, providers, and […]
Although Gloria Steinem was scheduled to speak at Trinity College of Vermont as part of its “Peace and Justice” lecture series, she never got the chance to address the school’s approximately 900 students. That’s because the Catholic women’s college withdrew its invitation for fear that Steinem, cofounder of Ms. magazine, would discuss the church’s positions […]
With hospital mergers on the rise, women will suffer the loss of services from abortion to tubal ligation to birth control. Today’s Kaiser Daily Health Report discusses the issue in conjunction with the recent purchase of the former South Valley Hospital in Gilroy CA by Catholic Healthcare West, which now operates 46 hospitals in the […]
As part of a so-called “Pro-Life” initiative set up by Scottish Cardinal Thomas Winning, a twelve-year-old girl in Britain was given money to keep her baby. The young girl is the most controversial so far of the 2,000 British women who have accepted money from the Catholic Church not to have an abortion. Social workers […]
Elizabeth, N.J., will soon lose its last secular hospital. Pending approval from New Jersey’s The Elizabeth General Medical Center and St. Elizabeth Hospital will merge this summer to become Trinitas Hospital, a Catholic facility in which abortions, tubal ligations, vasectomies and contraceptive counseling will not be provided. The Catholic Health Association of the United States […]
Former Domino’s Pizza mogul Tom Monaghan’s Ave Maria School of Law is continuing to gain more support from ultra-conservative, right-wing forces. Scheduled to open in the year 2000, the school has already attracted many high-profile political leaders. Conservative legal scholar and former U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork has agreed to teach. Rep. Henry Hyde […]
Former Domino’s Pizza president and billionaire Tom Monaghan has announced that he will spend $50 million to build a Catholic law school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Monaghan, who has actively participated in and sponsored anti-abortion causes, is hopeful that The Ave Maria School of Law, scheduled to open in the fall of 2000, will become […]
American Leaders of the Catholic Church are moving to increase their political activism by starting a new lobbying campaign against abortion and encouraging pro-choice candidates to change their stances on the issue. The campaign was approved by a vote taken during the semiannual meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops passing by a margin […]
Associate pastor Mary Ramerman was removed from her job at a Corpus Christi, TX church for violating Vatican rules. Ramerman had served at the church for over a decade, lifting the communion cup and reciting prayers, actions considered violations when performed by women in the liturgy. “My heart’s broken,” said Ramerman, who holds a master’s […]
A planned merger between Baptist Health Systems (BHS) and Mercy Hospital may force the loss of essential reproductive healthcare services for women seeking healthcare at 4 Florida hospitals. Mercy Hospital is a Catholic facility that could follow the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services compiled in 1971 by the National Conference of […]
An unnamed thirty-five year old woman was refused an emergency abortion at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, N.H., after her water broke only 14 weeks into her pregnancy. Dr. Wayne Goldner of Elliot Hospital told the Boston Globe that he was forbidden from performing the abortion and had to arrange for the woman to be driven […]
Washington, D.C.’s Catholic University has retracted an invitation to Candace Gingrich, the half-sister of the Speaker of the House Gingrich and a lesbian and gay rights activist, to speak at the school. The invitation was originally made by CU’s Organization for Lesbian and Gay Student Rights and was approved by CU’s Vice President Robert Friday. […]
In an alarming trend that is increasing each year, secular hospitals are merging with Catholic hospitals and cutting off all reproductive health services. The mergers, which are often done to keep financially-struggling hospitals open, are becoming more and more common. For example, in New York City, a Catholic health maintenance organization purchased a statewide Medicaid-only […]
Two women were ordained as priests in the Old Catholic Church in Konstanz, Germany. Angela Berlis, 33, is a theologian and Regina Pickel-Bossau, 48, is a teacher. The ordination ceremony highlighted the divisions in the Catholic church, coming less than three weeks before a scheduled visit by Pope John Paul II who has opposed the […]
Wednesday (5-15) was Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz’ deadline for Catholics in his diocese to quit 12 groups or face excommunication. The list of the groups Bruskewitz deemed unacceptable includes Planned Parenthood, Catholics for a Free Choice, and Call to Action, a group advocating discussion of the ordination of women and married men. Excommunicated Catholics may attend […]
An Oklahoma anti-abortion nonprofit received a lucrative payout from the State Department of Health in 2024 and is now reporting its impact. The Oklahoma Life Foundation (OKLF) advocates for anti-abortion policies and services. Supporting crisis pregnancy centers, also known to abortion rights activists as “fake clinics,” OKLF perpetuates misinformation about pregnancy and contraception. Oklahoma’s Choosing […]
The Supreme Court has revived a legal challenge to a New York state regulation that requires employers to cover abortion services in employee health insurance plans. In a brief, unsigned order issued on June 17, the justices instructed a lower court to reconsider the case brought by a group of Catholic organizations, including the Roman […]
