In Malpractice Case, Catholic Hospital Argues Fetuses Aren’t People
The lead defendant in the case is Catholic Health Initiatives, the Englewood-based nonprofit that runs St. Thomas More Hospital as well as roughly 170 other health facilities in 17 states. Last year, the hospital chain reported national assets of $15 billion. The organization’s mission, according to its promotional literature, is to “nurture the healing ministry of the Church” and to be guided by “fidelity to the Gospel.” Toward those ends, Catholic Health facilities seek to follow the Ethical and Religious Directives of the Catholic Church authored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Those rules have stirred controversy for decades, mainly for forbidding non-natural birth control and abortions. “Catholic health care ministry witnesses to the sanc y of life ‘from the moment of conception until death,’” the directives state. “The Church’s defense of life encompasses the unborn.”
But when it came to mounting a defense in the Stodghill case, Catholic Health’s lawyers effectively turned the Church directives on their head. Catholic organizations have for decades fought to change federal and state laws that fail to protect “unborn persons,” and Catholic Health’s lawyers in this case had the chance to set precedent bolstering anti-abortion legal arguments. Instead, they are arguing state law protects doctors from liability concerning unborn fetuses on grounds that those fetuses are not persons with legal rights.
As Jason Langley, an attorney with Denver-based Kennedy Childs, argued in one of the briefs he filed for the defense, the court “should not overturn the long-standing rule in Colorado that the term ‘person,’ as is used in the Wrongful Death Act, encompasses only individuals born alive. Colorado state courts define ‘person’ under the Act to include only those born alive. Therefore Plaintiffs cannot maintain wrongful death claims based on two unborn fetuses.”
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/articl...ality+Check%29
Another sense of being "Nailed To The Cross" (of hypocrisy)!
Just like all the abortion-hating pastors and "Christians" who get abortions for their wives and daughters. Do as we say, not as we do.
"No Catholic ins ution may legitimately work to undermine fundamental human dignity,"
But if anything threatens the wealthy political organization, known as the Catholic Church, power, the CC hierarchy stops at nothing to protect itself (eg, decades, centuries?, of shielding pedophile priests from exposure and prosecution.). Like any organization, preservation of the organization and ita top hierarchy overrides ANY individual's rights, or life.
Last edited by boutons_deux; 01-26-2013 at 09:33 AM.
excessive legalism might land the hospital in hot water. we'll see whether it does or doesn't. I doubt you know any better than I do.
This is pretty funny.
Catholic Church, Inc. defense: "The debbil lawyers said it, not us" (but we'll screw the family and keep our $Ms, thank you)
You know, it seems to me that the Roman Church has pretty much lost its moral authority.
I know that the Bishops may review this, per the Reuters article, but the fact that the suit has even taken this approach is really a statement of how low they can go.
Protectors of pedophiles don't have much moral authority to start with, imo, but this should at least got to be an embarrassment for them.
"The bishops said that they would carry out a "full review of this litigation and of the policies and practices ... to ensure fidelity and faithful witness to the teachings of the Catholic Church.""
We'll see if the CC can dictate to CHI and other CC-associated orgns what their litigation defenses can take, here and later.
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