There is a coinciding surge of concern in some Democratic-led states that options for reproductive health care are dwindling due to expansion of Catholic hospital networks.
PUTNAM, Conn. -- Even as numerous Republican-governed states push for sweeping bans on abortion, there is a coinciding surge of concern in some Democratic-led states that options for reproductive health care are dwindling due to expansion of Catholic hospital networks.
"We need to ensure that any new ownership can provide a full range of care - including reproductive health care, family planning, gender-affirming care and end-of-life care," said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat. The CHA's president, Sister Mary Haddad, said the Catholic hospitals provide a wide range of prenatal, obstetric and postnatal services while assisting in about 500,000 births annually.
In California, Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener is among those warily monitoring the proliferation of Catholic health care providers, who operate 52 hospitals in his state. "These mergers take place because Catholic institutions are willing to take on the really hard places where others have failed to make money," he said."We should focus on what these institutions are doing in a positive way - stepping into the breach where virtually no one else wants to go, especially in rural areas."
Despite the assurances, some residents are concerned that the region's only hospital would become Catholic-owned. Some merger opponents protested outside the hospital last Monday. "Very important articles of faith that Catholics may have, and I respect completely, shouldn't impact the quality of health care that is available to the public," she said.-In Washington, Democratic state Sen. Emily Randall plans to re-introduce a bill that would empower the attorney general to block hospital mergers and acquisitions if they jeopardize"the continued existence of accessible, affordable health care, including reproductive health care." Gov.
The law also allows the state to consider end-of-life options allowed by hospitals seeking to establish a footprint or expand in Oregon, which in 1994 became the first state to legalize medical aid in dying.
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