Hartford, Conn., Mar 9, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Catholics in Connecticut are protesting a bill that would require Catholic hospitals to provide the morning-after pill to rape victims.
The state’s four Catholic hospitals oppose the bill. Connecticut Right to Life demonstrated in Waterbury outside St. Mary's Hospital recently to oppose the legislation. Protesters say the issue revolves around religious freedom.
The morning-after pill is an abortifacient and distrubuting the pill would be against Church teaching, explained Fr. John Gatzak, the communications director for the Archdiocese of Hartford.
Gov. Jodi Rell says she favors the current law, which allows hospitals not to dispense the morning-after pill for religious reasons. It does require that they refer women who seek it to other hospitals. However, Rell said she would sign the new bill into law if it were passed by the legistlature.