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It should be remembered that patients - you and I - are not the only ones who are adversely affected by these polices. Even non-Catholic doctors working at a non-Catholic hospital suddenly find themselves under severe restrictions when their institution merges with a Catholic hospital:
#9 Employees of a Catholic health care institution must respect and uphold the religious mission of the institution and adhere to these Directives. They should maintain professional standards and promote the institution's commitment to human dignity and the common good.
Although this may sound rather innocuous, its ramifications can be tragic. A doctor's admitting privileges, scope of practice, participation in medical trials, relationship with patients and even his or her ability to fulfill professional responsibilities face restrictions.
Catholic hospitals must ensure that their physicians and staff adhere to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. These doctors are thus typically required to sign agreements promising to respect the Directives and follow the moral teaching of the Church. Refusal means loss of admitting privileges or a staff position.
Some hospital administrators may say that doctors can continue to do what they want if they are discreet and nobody finds out, but this is a dangerous "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It leaves doctors vulnerable to exposure by hostile hospital staff members or even patients.
Even worse, doctors can be punished for what they do or say away from the hospital if it conflicts with the Directives! For example, Dr. David Mesches was fired as chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Catholic-affiliated New York Medical College just for saying to a newspaper reporter that legal abortion is the "law of the land."
In another case, an Illinois physician was fired by the Catholic OSF HealthCare System and its St. John's Medical Center in Bloomington in March of 1999 for writing a letter to the editor defending Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Other doctors have also been punished for criticizing hospital merger terms or for providing banned services, such as abortions, at other facilities.
Once again, the Catholic Church has not been able to sway enough opinions to have certain options like abortion made illegal - but now they are working on other alternatives. The more power they accumulate in the private sector of health care, the more they can control what doctors, nurses and counselors can say - not just in Catholic hospitals, but in any institution which has any collaborative relationship with a Catholic hospital. Do you know if your doctor is being prevented from giving you complete and accurate information about your legally available healthcare options by the Vatican?
Keep reading: Conclusions.
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