At the Crossroads of Compassion and Controversy: Notes on the Catholic Church and Health Care

From pharmacists who refuse to dispense Plan B drugs (which prevent ovulation) to legislation designed to limit a patient's end-of-life or euthanasia options, there's no shortage of controversial topics in America today when it comes to religion/morality overlapping with science/medicine. On this edition of ST, we discuss such a topic as we confront certain practices of some Catholic hospitals. Our guess is Monica Harrington, an ardent critic of such hospitals who thinks they are unfairly -- and illegally -- imposing their moral values upon their patients (and are doing so in institutions that, while private, are also heavily financed with taxpayer dollars). Harrington, a former technology executive turned health care activist, is also the editor of a website called CatholicWatch, which is "committed to safeguarding patient and taxpayer rights and protecting our health care system from theocracy-based medicine." Harrington was a guest back in October of the Tulsa Interfaith Alliance, when she participated in a forum called "The Role of Faith in Health Care Decisions: Individuals, Groups, and Government." (This event, co-presented with Phillips Theological Seminary and the Women's & Gender Studies Department at the University of Tulsa, happened on the TU campus.)