How the Catholic Bishops Outsmarted Washington Voters

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Washington state voters (many Catholics included) voted against the bishops wishes in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana use, marriage for same-sex couples, death with dignity,outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, citizen initiative established that "every individual has the fundamental right to choose or refuse birth control" and "every woman has the fundamental right to choose or refuse abortion.", absolute right to privacy around mental health and reproductive issues for teens aged 13 and up. Also, Washington State's constitution includes an Equal Rights Amendment and (from the get-go) a stronger wall of separation between church and state than the U.S. Constitution.

"But the Vatican hasn't survived for fifteen hundred years by being stupid. And as my devout family members like to say, "Where God closes a door, he opens a window." The window the Bishops found open in Washington takes the form of independent hospitals with financial problems.

Thanks to changes in health care delivery, more and more independent hospitals are being forced to merge with large health care corporations. The pressures include expensive equipment, complex electronic record keeping technologies, and an Obamacare-driven push for greater administrative efficiency. Rather like mom-and-pop hardware stores that survived by becoming Ace franchisees with standardized, streamlined supply and distribution systems, independent health facilities are surviving through acquisitions and mergers with other hospitals and health care corporations.

Of the largest health care corporations in the country, five of six are administered by the Catholic Church including the famously conservative Catholic Health Initiatives which operates the Franciscan brand and has over $15 billion in assets. By the end of 2013, if all proposed mergers go through, 45 percent of Washington hospital beds will be religiously affiliated. In ten counties, 100 percent of hospital facilities will be accountable to religious corporations, which are rapidly buying up outpatient clinics, laboratories, and physician practices as well."

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1. Changes to expect include

Changes to expect include:


Fertility Treatment: "Reproductive technologies that substitute for the marriage act are not consistent with human dignity." This provision excludes in vitro fertilization and related treatments. It especially affects same sex couples, who may rely on surrogacy or insemination for childbearing, but it also affects the 10 percent of American couples who have fertility problems.

Contraception: "Catholic health institutions may not promote or condone contraceptive practices." . . . "Direct sterilization of either men or women, whether permanent or temporary, is not permitted in a Catholic health care institution." While we don't typically associate contraception with hospitals, state-of-the-art long acting methods like IUD's increasingly are provided at the time of delivery, because post partum insertion improves health outcomes. Under ERD guidelines, a woman who delivers a baby at a Catholic hospital and wants and IUD or to have her tubes tied has to have a second, separate procedure at a secular facility--if they can find one.

Abnormal Pregnancies: "In case of extrauterine pregnancy, no intervention is morally licit which constitutes a direct abortion." Catholic practice encourages the removal of the entire fallopian tube to end an ectopic pregnancy, rather than the standard practice which simply ablates the developing fetus. That is because the standard treatment is considered abortion, while in the invasive and fertility-destroying surgery, death of the embryo is simply a side effect. More broadly, Catholic "ethics" forbid abortion even to save the life of a mother carrying a nonviable fetus. The battle to save a young woman named Beatriz in El Salvador exemplifies this very situation.

Advance Directives - "a Catholic health care institution . . . will not honor an advance directive that is contrary to Catholic teaching." Where patient directives and bishop directives conflict, the directives of the bishops take precedence regardless of a patient's own religious or conscience obligations.

DNR - "The free and informed judgment made by a competent adult patient concerning the use or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures should always be respected and normally complied with, unless it is contrary to Catholic moral teaching." Since this battle heated up, stories are emerging in which Catholic hospitals have force fed incapacitated patients whose advance directives specifically stipulated that this not happen.

Death with Dignity - "Catholic health care institutions may never condone or participate in [Death With Dignity] in any way." Physicians are prohibited even from discussing options that exist in other institutions or making referrals.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/valerie-tarico/how-the-catholic-bishops-_b_3322479.html

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2. Pope Francis may be saying one thing

but his bishops are doing something else

[Bluenorthwest]

3. That's not out smarting that's just being skilled at deception, the Bishop's forte

Duplicity is not intelligence, it is moral depravity. The Bishops excel at that.

[gopiscrap]

4. exactly

[Dawson Leery]

5. This dirty organization has been attempting to undermine democracy for 200+ years.

In the words of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, Catholic hospitals and health care corporations are "health care ministries" and "opportunities:"

New partnerships can be viewed as opportunities for Catholic health-care institutions and services to witness to their religious and ethical commitments and so influence the healing profession," . . . "For example, new partnerships can help to implement the Church's social teaching."

As I said before, this makes them nothing more than Abrahomic Sugar Daddies.