Denver, Colo., Feb 25, 2008 / 23:23 pm
Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver, is pointing to coercion by pro-abortion groups and some state legislators in a local controversy over the merger of non-Catholic hospitals with a Catholic health care system run by the Sisters of Charity.
The arm twisting by the various opponents of the merger would have the effect of forcing Catholic hospitals into offering procedures that violate both human dignity and the hospitals’ religious mission, according to Archbishop Chaput.
The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System is seeking to buy two hospitals in the Denver area. If the purchase is completed, the hospitals will follow Catholic ethical guidelines.
Some have complained that the Catholic ethics code forbids contraceptive distribution and procedures such as sterilizations. The code of ethics would also end the practice of medical abortions at the hospitals, which perform fewer than a dozen such abortions per year.