Do Catholic hospitals turn away women in crisis pregnancies?

"Health Care Denied" was the headline of a report issued by the American Civil Liberties Union on how Catholic hospitals threaten the health and lives of women. It is a common accusation leveled by civil rights groups on issues of women's reproductive health and crisis pregnancies. Catholic hospitals follow guidelines based on beliefs about the human person and the common good which prevent medical staff from providing a range of reproductive health services, including contraception, abortion and sterilization.

Are Catholic hospitals denying women care, turning them away and by doing so threatening their lives? That is absolutely not true, says Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., a moral theologian and the Senior Director of Theology and Ethics at the Catholic Health Association. Fr. Charlie speaks to Gloria about why groups like the ACLU and others are targeting Catholic hospitals, despite the high quality of care offered and many shared advocacy priorities around the common good, immigration, voting rights, criminal justice and more.

At some point in the conversation around reproductive health, says Fr. Charlie, belief in human dignity and the common good morphed into a radical autonomy; free choice became an end in itself. Ultimately, this debate is about fundamental moral principles–is a dialogue possible?

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