The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against Trinity Health Corporation, a Catholic health system, for not performing abortions on five mothers with pregnancy complications. The lawsuit claims that the type of medical conditions these women experienced often result in death of the unborn child as well as health risks to the mother and therefore the baby should be killed immediately without further consideration.
UPDATE 4/12/16: Judge Dismisses ACLU Lawsuit, Catholic Hospitals Win
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
ACLU Forces Catholic Hospital To Sterilize Woman
California Forces Catholics to Fund Abortion, ACLU Celebrates
ACLU Sues Bishops for Pro-life Beliefs and Practice
ACLU Tells Feds: We'll Force Abortion on Catholic Hospitals
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Forces Christians into Abortion Business
ObamaCare Loses to Christians in High Court, Again
Also read Pope Francis Decries Abortion Continually, Yet Media Ignore
And read Abortionists Must Defeat Christianity, Hillary Clinton Says
-- From "ACLU sues Catholic hospital chain over emergency abortions" by Liz Szabo, USA TODAY 10/1/15
According to the suit, each of the women had suffered a preterm, premature rupture of membranes, a condition in which the amniotic sac breaks and leaves no fluid around the fetus.
When this happens early in a pregnancy, it virtually always results in fetal death, said Sarah Prager, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington, who is not involved in the lawsuit. Premature rupture of membranes is often caused by an infection. "This is a situation where there is virtually no chance that the fetus will survive," Prager said. "The miscarriage has started. It just hasn't completed."
Women in this situation are at high risk of serious infections and dangerous bleeding, Prager said. Terminating the pregnancy is considered the standard of care, Prager said.
According to the lawsuit, Trinity hospital staff refused to terminate the women's pregnancies. The women developed serious complications, including life-threatening infections, severe pain and hemorrhaging.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Catholic hospital system denies pregnant women appropriate emergency care, claims ACLU suit" by Virginia Gordan, Michigan Radio 10/1/15
The ACLU claims that the Trinity Health Corporation, which is headquartered in Michigan, violates federal law by requiring its doctors to follow the Ethical and Religious Directives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops – instead of accepted medical practice.
"The case is really about ensuring that Catholic hospitals follow the same medical practices as all other hospitals," said Brooke Tucker of the ACLU of Michigan.
Tucker said the accepted standard of care in emergency treatment of miscarriages is to complete the miscarriage and terminate the doomed pregnancy to prevent further risk to the woman's health or life.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "ACLU sues Catholic hospital system over abortion policy" by Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press 10/1/15
The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed an amended complaint Friday against Trinity Health, headquartered in Livonia, in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
Trinity Health responded by issuing a statement that said, in part, “This case has no merit.”
“The Ethical and Religious Directives are entirely consistent with high-quality health care, and our clinicians continue to provide superb care throughout the communities we serve,” the statement went on to say. “We are proud that more than 25,000 licensed physicians work directly with our health system and share our commitment to people-centered care."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "ACLU sues Catholic health provider for emergency abortion refusal" by John Agar, Grand Rapids Press 10/2/15
The ACLU says the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA, calls for appropriate emergency care, including abortion when warranted. It says that a public health educator in Michigan found at least five women who suffered miscarriages were denied urgent care because of Catholic directives.
A federal judge earlier this year dismissed a claim that a Catholic anti-abortion doctrine at Musekgon's Mercy Health Partners left her with improper care before she miscarried in 2010.
Trinity Health has 86 hospitals in 21 states, and 126 continuing care facilities, home health and hospice programs, and all-inclusive elderly care programs.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Mich. health system sued for emergency abortion policy" by Candice Williams, The Detroit News 10/1/15
In Michigan, Trinity Health operates the Mercy Health system with five hospital campuses, 60 physician offices and more than 1,300 medical staff physicians as well as the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System with six hospitals, six outpatient health centers, seven urgent care facilities and more than 25 specialty centers.
The ACLU also threatened action last month against a Grand Blanc Catholic hospital for refusing a seriously ill woman's request to be sterilized during her scheduled C-section next month.
Genesys Regional Medical Center — part of Ascension Health, the nation’s largest Catholic health system — has refused to allow the obstetrician for Jessica Mann, 33, of Flushing, who has a life-threatening brain tumor and is pregnant, to perform a tubal ligation at the time of the cesarean procedure.
“As a Catholic healthcare system, we follow the ethical and religious directives of the Church," Genesys spokeswoman Cindy Ficorelli said in a statement. "Beyond that, we can't comment on this patient's particular case.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "ACLU Files Lawsuit to Force Catholic Hospitals to Do Abortions" by Sarah Zagorski, LifeNews.com 10/2/15
As LifeNews previously reported, the ACLU has been big advocates for abortion and forcing Catholic hospitals to perform them even though it’s against their religious beliefs. In fact, [the] ACLU of Michigan recently lost a lawsuit where they were trying to force Catholic and other religiously affiliated hospitals to do abortions in cases where the mother’s life is supposedly in danger. The judge involved in the case, Robert Holmes Bell, dismissed it and said that Michigan federal courts had no jurisdiction over the bishops conference policy directive and had no business interfering with their religious doctorial decisions.
Then, earlier this year, the ACLU sued the Obama administration for documents it says will show that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is restricting access to abortions for unaccompanied immigrant children. In February 2014, the USCCB objected to a new regulation proposed by the Obama administration that would require contractors to provide access to contraception and abortion for unaccompanied immigrant children who have been raped.
In an official letter, the USCCB as well as World Relief, the National Association of Evangelicals and Catholic Relief Services, explained that the new regulation violates religious liberty, specifically the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act [RFRA].
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Kill Baby to Save Mother? No! — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
