As Catholic-owned hospitals
merge with or take over other
facilities, they impose restrictionsonreproductivehealth
services,
including abortion and
contraceptive services. Our interviews
with US obstetrician–
gynecologists working in Catholic-
owned hospitals revealed
that they are also restricted in
managing miscarriages.
Catholic-owned hospital
ethics committees denied approval
of uterine evacuation
while fetal heart tones
were still present, forcing physicians
to delay care or transport
miscarrying patients to
non–Catholic-owned facilities.
Some physicians intentionally
violated protocol because they
felt patient safetywas compromised.
Although Catholic doctrine
officially deems abortion
permissible to preserve the life
of the woman, Catholic-owned
hospital ethics committees
differ in their interpretation of
how much health risk constitutes
a threat to a woman’s
life and therefore how much
risk must be present before
they approve the intervention.
