ACLU sues Catholic hospital system over abortion policy
DETROIT — A federal lawsuit accuses a Catholic health system with 86 hospitals nationwide of “denying appropriate emergency care to women suffering pregnancy complications.”
The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed an amended complaint Friday against Trinity Health, headquartered in Livonia, in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
Trinity Health responded by issuing a statement that said, in part, “This case has no merit.”
According to the lawsuit, Trinity Health requires all of its hospitals to abide by the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” and they “prohibit Catholic hospitals from terminating the pregnancy of a woman suffering a pregnancy complication, even if such care is urgently needed to protect a woman’s health or life.”
Trinity Health has hospitals in 21 states.
Pope pushes Catholic hospitals, clinics to do more to help poor
The lawsuit goes on to say that hospitals within the system have failed to provide women with the emergency care required by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and the Rehabilitation Act because of the policies.
"We’re taking a stand today to fight for pregnant women who are denied potentially life-saving care because doctors are forced to follow religious directives rather than best medical practices,” ACLU of Michigan attorney Brooke Tucker said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “Catholic bishops are not licensed medical professionals and have no place dictating how doctors practice medicine, especially when it violates federal law.”
A spokeswoman with Trinity Health released a statement that said a federal court already dismissed a similar ACLU claim and Trinity will seek dismissal of this lawsuit.
“The Ethical and Religious Directives are entirely consistent with high-quality health care, and our clinicians continue to provide superb care throughout the communities we serve,” the statement went on to say. “We are proud that more than 25,000 licensed physicians work directly with our health system and share our commitment to people-centered care."
In 2013, the ACLU sued the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which drafted the policy used by Trinity Health, Tucker said. That lawsuit was dismissed, is being appealed, and now the ACLU is “going right to the source of the care,” she said.