May 7, 2007 01:33 PM
NCBC Statement
on
In Good Conscience: Guidelines for the Ethical Provision of Health Care in a Pluralistic Society
A Project of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
May 1, 2007
The National Catholic Bioethics Center has grave concerns related to the document: In Good Conscience: Guidelines for the Ethical Provision of Health Care in a Pluralistic Society [Guidelines]. This document claims to respect the pluralism of society, the separation of church and state, and the "inviolability of conscience in making personal health care decisions." (page 1) However, it continues to advocate for the violation of these very principles. Particularly, the inviolability of conscience of the health care provider is not respected. Factual misinformation is provided that ignores the comprehensive quality of care provided by Catholic sponsored health care. In addition, there is no recognition of the true meaning of the separation of church and state, which mandates that the free exercise of religion, including that of the provider, be respected.
Specifically, this document claims "to assist health care institutions to develop policies regarding access to health care in general and reproductive health care in particular." (page 1) However, for the most part it is a single issue document focusing on the misnomer of reproductive "health." In reality the Guidelines justify the violation of the religious liberty of Catholic providers who refuse to engage in reproductive practices that mutilate adults, and their unborn children. While the very title of the Guidelines would indicate a respect for conscience, the Guidelines find the Hyde-Weldon Conscience Protection Amendment "troubling." (page 4) Furthermore, the "Preamble" states, in part, that medical professionals have a right to exercise their professional judgment in the best interest of patients, and that an individual conscience may not control or restrict the exercise of conscience of another. However, it would appear that these principles only apply to those whose consciences are in agreement with the particular ideology promoted by the authors of the Guidelines. Most troubling is the admonition that the law should not be overridden by positions of conscience that are based in religious beliefs. In other words, physicians legally mandated to engage in crimes against humanity would be subject to legal penalties for refusing to violate religiously based conscience positions such as "Thou shalt not kill."
It is frightening, indeed, that a coalition that claims to be religious, would mount an attack on Catholic health care, and its Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, under the guise of the separation of church and state. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the religious freedom of patients and providers of health care, of all faiths, including those of the signatories of these Guidelines. By advancing these Guidelines, the authors implicitly are advocating for the violation of the rights of all persons, from pacifists who refuse to engage in combat, to physicians who refuse to assist in executing death through capital punishment. This is not the United States of our founders.
Catholic health care continues to provide a very significant contribution to the common good of the American society. The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services provide the operational framework to continue this remarkable service to all those seeking health care, including non-Catholics, from Catholic sponsored agencies.
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