Ariz. diocese revokes hospital's status after surgery

[babylonsister]

Ariz. diocese revokes hospital's status after surgery
St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix may not call itself Catholic due to life-saving 2009 procedure ending pregnancy
By AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press

*

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix stripped a major hospital of its affiliation with the church Tuesday because of a surgery that ended a woman's pregnancy to save her life.

Bishop Thomas Olmsted called the 2009 procedure an abortion and said St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center -- recognized internationally for its neurology and neurosurgery practices -- violated ethical and religious directives of the national Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"In the decision to abort, the equal dignity of mother and her baby were not both upheld," Olmsted said at a news conference announcing the decision. "The mother had a disease that needed to be treated. But instead of treating the disease, St. Joseph's medical staff and ethics committee decided that the healthy, 11-week-old baby should be directly killed."

St. Joseph's does not receive direct funding from the church, but in addition to losing its Catholic endorsement, the 697-bed hospital will no longer be able to celebrate Mass and must remove the Blessed Sacrament from its chapel.

more...

http://www.salon.com/news/catholicism/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/12/21/us_bishop_hospital

[madrchsod]

1. i`m sure no one will notice any difference in their care.

[Tesha]

7. Yeah, but this week the cafeteria's running a close-out sale on matzoh wafers. (NT)

[redirish28]

2. Hospital is probably better off. now they can treat people without hands being tied

and gagged

[Happyhippychick]

3. You mean the church can't override the doctor's decisions???

Phew!

[valerief]

4. Killer bishop. He'd rather see the mother die. What a POS. nt

[LiberalFighter]

5. The hospital celebrates Mass? I thought that was the church.

And the hospital shouldn't be the one that should remove the BS from the chapel.

They have church services in the hospital? Who decides the times clergy members gets to perform their services?

[pnwmom]

13. Priests have been allowed to say private masses in the Chapel.

Apparently they won't be able to anymore.

[patrice]

6. As long as "the Church" refuses to publicly recognize that War is Abortion too, they do not have

a Pro-Life leg to stand on. Their inability to do so is proof that their political ambitions exceed their commitment to Life.

[WillyT]

8. Thank God You're Safe - K & R !!!

:hide::D:hide:

:hi:

[Angry Dragon]

9. The bishop must haveone of those

on-line doctors' degree ........
Just following the frist diagnosis seminar

[FiveGoodMen]

10. Let's see...

If you or I tried to coerce another party into actions that would result in the death of another...

Wouldn't that be a crime?

Shouldn't this instance be a crime as well?

[MadMaddie]

15. Um the mother who had a viable life

versus an 11 week old fetus who would not have survived outside of the womb?

By the way it's not your body, it's not your decision. This was between the patient and the doctor as it should be.

[FiveGoodMen]

16. I think you understood me backward

The church tried to get the mother killed.

That would be attempted murder for most of us.

[MadMaddie]

18. Oh my bad

Sorry about that! You are absolutely correct!

:hi:

[ljm2002]

11. "the healthy, 11-week-old baby"...

...er, no. It was not an 11-week-old baby. If an ethics committee decided to kill a healthy (or unhealthy, for that matter) 11-week-old baby, then yes there would be cause for concern, to say the least. This was an 11-week fetus, not the same thing. These people are SOOO dishonest.

[beam me up scottie]

12. I noticed that too, nice imagery.

Like they ripped an adorable chubby-cheeked gurgling lil babe out of its mother's arms and executed it.

[beam me up scottie]

14. "Thousands of women safe from misogynistic, murderous church directives now."

A doctor should NEVER have to ask priests whom to save.

[toddwv]

17. So then what would the Church do

if the pregnancy continued and both the mother AND infant died?

[truebrit71]

19. Well that would just be God's will...

...:puke:

[truebrit71]

20. When I heard this on the telly this am I was mind-blown. I thought to myself "they killed a baby"?

..then I realised the dishonest bastard was talking about an 11-week old fetus that was aborted due to the surgery...

Any doubt the church hates women? Not anymore.

[dembotoz]

21. what is it with arizona

always wanted to go to Brewers Spring Training. My grandfather went to see the Braves last Spring training in florida before they left milw for atlanta.
Always wanted to do that.
Get away from the cold and snow, get a tan......
Maybe a trip to Mexico and play tourista.....

Not anymore, those folks are just too whacky.

[Lionel Mandrake]

22. Bishop Olmsted also excommunicated a nun.

According to a story in the LA Times:

"When Olmsted learned of the abortion last May, he announced that a nun involved in the decision, Sister Margaret McBride, had been excommunicated. ...

Patrick McCormick, a professor of religious studies at Gonzaga University who specializes in Catholic medical ethics, said Olmstead's argument ran counter to the views of most prominent Catholic moral theologians. 'How is that better for anybody both the woman and the fetus die, and then you have four orphans and a widower left at home?' he said."

Read more: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/21/nation/la-na-catholic-hospital-20101222

IMHO the professor shows common sense, but the bishop is out of his fucking mind.

[mainer]

23. Some say you "never have to abort to save a mother's life"

I've argued again and again with anti-choice people that there are plenty of examples of illnesses where it really is an either-or choice. I hope they're paying attention to this one.