BISHOP OLMSTED FOLLOWS THROUGH - REMOVES HOSPITAL AFFILIATION

"The Catholic bishop of Phoenix on Tuesday stripped a local hospital of Catholic affiliation after it ended a woman's pregnancy to save her life."
Reuters

To save the patients life? Really?

"The patient suffered from pulmonary hypertension that could limit the functioning of her heart and lungs, the hospital said. Allowing the pregnancy to continue could have exacerbated the condition, it said."

So we're not talking about a life and death struggle with the mother teetering on the edge of death. We're not talking about a baby that died in its mother's womb as a secondary effect of the medical procedures that had to be preformed to save the mother because without it she would have died, right now.

No, we're talking about an abortion, deliberately considered and assented to by the mother of the child while under no threat of imminent peril. The pregnancy did present the possibility of physical harm or death to the mother but it was not a clear and present danger.

"Hunt said the medical procedure to end the pregnancy was performed only after consulting with the patient and her family, doctors and the hospital's ethics committee. Olmstead later ex-communicated one member of the ethics committee, Sister Margaret McBride."

The mother's death was not only far from looming, there was time for meetings and discussions. And this instance of abortion is not the only one nor is abortion the only serious breach of Catholic teaching this hospital has involved itself in.

"Olmstead, at a news conference, said the hospital failed to adequately address "the scandal caused by the abortion" and that it has for years violated other ethical and religious guidelines set by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

He told reporters the violations included offering contraceptive counseling and supplies, providing voluntary male and female sterilization, and performing abortions due to a mother's mental or physical health or when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest."

While the media and feminist groups try to paint this as some sort of egregious interference in the "rights" of the mother, in reality what we have is a Catholic hospital that has not only refused to do what it's told but it has been implicated in mortal sin. The only way the Bishop could have been wrong would be if he did nothing!

The problem is that the doctors cannot put the life of the mother ahead of the child. Both are equally valuable. The proper thing to do would have been to try to save the life of the mother without purposefully killing the child. It seems as though the child was sacrificed to save the mother even though the death of the mother was not a foregone conclusion.

Damn. That sounds hard, doesn't it? Obviously, I wasn't there for all this and I'm just going off what I read between the lines and my knowledge of Church teaching on this subject. But, what if I put myself in the shoes of the mother and father? What if the situation was a whole lot dicier than it seems? What if there was a damned near certainty that my wife was going to die if the pregnancy went forward? What would I do?

I've thought a lot about this over the years because I am a husband and father. And pregnancy isn't the only thing that could put you in a tight spot regarding your life or the life of someone you love. What if it was my granddaughter? Or one of my grown kids?

The fact is that I have faith and what good is it if you can't rely on it. I've learned over the years that there are a bunch of things that I can't control. So far it's pretty much been most things. I've learned to put my faith in Jesus, say a prayer and just go. I know pretty well what the Church teaches in most instances and since I believe the Church teaches what Christ teaches then I have to do as the Church says. And leave the rest up to God.

That doesn't mean it would be easy and if the life of someone I love was on the line it would be a real test of my faith. But, my feelings don't change the truth and if I believe the Church teaches the truth when it's easy I have to believe it teaches the truth when it's hard.

So please Jesus, don't put me in a position like these people found themselves in. But if you do, give me the strength to follow you; to follow the truth. I'm weak but through you I can be strong. And please watch over the soul of that poor little baby and all the others that have died from abortions. And help all the moms and dads of those kids to find forgiveness and peace.

Amen.