The atheist left is intent on destroying every last one of our fundamental religious freedoms.
If they have their way, faith-based medical care could be a thing of the past.
And what they want to force Catholic hospitals to do will shock you.
It started when a Catholic hospital system in Washington State proposed to merge with a secular healthcare system.
The two systems wanted to practice medicine more efficiently in their community and serve the needs of citizens—but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) pounced on the merger as an opportunity to advance the cause of abortion.
The ACLU accused Catholic healthcare providers of denying women “essential” reproductive health procedures, asserting that a merger between faith-based and secular hospitals would deny women and other minorities these “rights.”
“Reproductive health, LGBTQ+, and end-of-life care advocates in Washington state are deeply concerned that CHI Franciscan, a religious health system, and Virginia Mason, one of the state’s few remaining large secular health systems, plan to merge,” the ACLU wrote.
“If the proposed merger moves forward, Virginia Mason will deny patients access to certain reproductive and end-of-life care options at their facilities.”
In other words, the ACLU is concerned that the faith-based policies of Catholic hospitals and doctors would influence the secular healthcare system.
The ACLU claimed that “this is not the first move of this kind, nor is it likely to be the last. Washington State is a growing epicenter of religious-secular health system affiliations.”
“In 2010, 26% of the state’s hospital beds were in religious or religiously affiliated health system. With this merger, that number would rise to above 50%.”
And what exactly is bad about these rising percentages of faith-based medical systems?
Their strong pro-life stance.
“Virginia Mason’s plans [to merge with a Catholic hospital] jeopardize access to reproductive and end-of-life care, subordinating patients’ health care needs to religious doctrine,” the ACLU claimed.
Catholic health systems like the one in question operate under the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.
These directives “forbid or severely restrict” many liberal healthcare policies, such as contraception, sex-change hormone treatments, and assisted suicide.
According to the ACLU, this is a bad thing, but religious healthcare providers know that it’s far better to protect patients from these kinds of procedures.
Previous mergers between secular and religious hospitals have resulted in stronger pro-life policies at all stages of life.
“If this deal goes through, Virginia Mason will become the latest Washington health system wielding religious doctrine to restrict access to safe and legal health care services,” claimed Kim Clark, an attorney working with the ACLU.
“These restrictions disproportionately harm women, terminally ill patients, communities of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, low-income populations, and rural communities.”
Never mind that most, if not all, of these populations endure far more harm at the hands of liberal policies surrounding abortion, hormone treatments, and end-of-life treatment.
But the ACLU is ignoring these facts in favor of trying to shut down religious hospitals like this one.
The organization has already unleashed a slew of lawsuits against Catholic healthcare systems across the country suing religious practitioners for refusing to provide transgender surgeries, abortions, and sterilizations.
“Everyone should have access to a full range of legal quality health care services,” the ACLU asserted.
“Health systems must prioritize patient needs over religious doctrine.”
The ACLU and other liberal groups hope to force Catholic hospitals in mergers to perform abortions..
“Patients and activists are looking for bold leadership from elected leaders to ensure all Washingtonians can get the care they need, not matter where they live,” added Lillian Lanier, a pro-choice activist in Washington.
This means the ACLU and other liberal organizations will be doing whatever they can to attack Catholic and other faith-based hospitals in the name of “liberty.”
Meanwhile, Virginia Mason Hospital has stated, “We believe that this combined organization [with CHI Franciscan] would benefit patients, the [larger] community, and our region.”
“We are confident that this partnership would transform health care through a better patient experience, more accessible care and better value.”
“We’re actively working with community groups to address their questions,” the Catholic hospital added.
Please pray for Catholic healthcare providers around the nation as they face pressure from the ACLU and other liberal pro-abortion groups! May they stand strong in the faith.
Stay tuned for more news on the merger as it develops.
