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Monday, December 27, 2010

Archbishop Niederauer Initiates Dialogue with Catholic Healthcare West About Questions Raised by Bishop Olmsted - Abortion that Saved Mother's Life

"Archbishop Niederauer to confer with leadership of Catholic Healthcare West December 23rd, 2010By Catholic San Francisco


San Francisco Archbiship George Niederauer "intends to initiate a dialogue" with the leadership of Catholic Healthcare West regarding questions raised by Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted over CHW affiliate St. Joseph's Hospital's compliance with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services used by the U.S. bishops to govern moral choices in Catholic health care. The corporate offices of Catholic Healthcare West are located in the San Francisco archdiocese."

Here is the full text of the statement, which is headlined "Shared Responsibility":

-- Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, has authority and responsibility to interpret the moral law and to teach the Catholic faith in the Diocese of Phoenix, a jurisdiction that includes St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix which is operated by Catholic Healthcare West (CHW). The local bishop of a diocese has authority and responsibility for Catholic institutions located in his diocese regarding compliance with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs), issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

-- Some questions have been raised about the implementation of the ERDs as they relate to Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), a system headquartered within the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The Most Reverend George H. Niederauer, Archbishop of San Francisco, intends to initiate a dialogue with the leadership of Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) regarding those questions. Recent discussions within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, especially within its Task Force on Health Care, regarding implementation among individual Catholic institutions and Catholic health care systems, will contribute to that dialogue.

In May, officials at St. Joseph's publicly acknowledged that an abortion occurred at the hospital in late 2009.

"Consistent with our values of dignity and justice, if we are presented with a situation in which a pregnancy threatens a woman's life, our first priority is to save both patients," St. Joseph's President Linda Hunt said in a statement. "If that is not possible, we will always save the life we can save, and that is what we did in this case.

"We continue to stand by the decision, which was made in collaboration with the patient, her family, her caregivers and our ethics committee," she added. "Morally, ethically and legally we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save."

Directive 45 of the ERD states that abortion is never permitted.

Directive 47 states that "Operations, treatments, and medications that have as their direct purpose the cure of a proportionately serious pathological condition of a pregnant woman are permitted when they cannot be safely postponed until the unborn child is viable, even if they will result in the death of the unborn child."


Bridget Mary's Reflection:
When I was a teen, I saw a movie that depicted a bishop, the brother of a pregnant woman, who loved his sister, but when the chips were down and it was her life or the baby's life, the choice was his to make and he chose the baby. I will never forget how horrible I felt that his sister was powerless in this situation, and that the decision was her brother's to make.
So today, here we are again, reflecting on the controversy surrounding the mother in Phoenix whose life was saved by the the ethical team at St. Joseph's Catholic Hospital. As directive 47 indicates, one is obliged to save both lives, but if that is not possible then the moral principle is to save the life that can be saved. Surely, Bishop Olmsted of Phoenix is not implying that the hospital should have let the mother die when her life not only could be but was saved! Hopefully, Bishop Olmsted, Bishop Niederauer will clarify their positions in this kind of tragic situation when pregnant women's lives are at risk.
This controversy raises many questions.
Will Catholic hospitals continue to follow directive #47? What is the role of the umbrella organization Catholic Healthcare West? What decision-making responsibility do Catholic hospitals have in pregnancies that result in life or death decisions? Does the local bishop play a role in medical decisions made by ethical boards in Catholic hospitals ? What does it mean to be a "Catholic" institution, organization? Do such entities need hierarchial approval?
Vatican II teaches that the people of God are the church, and so by our baptism, we are all equals in our church. Are the people of God, the "baptized" members of the church responsible for the church? In the ideal situation, this relationship with the bishops should be a partnership. So perhaps, this "dialogue" between San Francisco Archbiship George Niederauer and Catholic Healthcare West may be a positive step forward.
Bridget Mary Meehan, RCWP
www.associationofromancatholicwomenpriests.org

1 comment:

Ophelia Benson said...

Surely, Bishop Olmsted of Phoenix is not implying that the hospital should have let the mother die when her life not only could be but was saved!

Yes of course he is. That's exactly what he's saying - not implying, but saying. He knows the fetus was doomed either way, and he is insisting that the mother should have been allowed to die too.