This document discusses issues with Catholic hospitals providing medical services that contradict Catholic teachings. It summarizes a situation in 2012 where a Catholic hospital was told it could no longer identify as Catholic after performing an abortion. It then examines physician directories of local Catholic hospitals, finding a lack of doctors only providing natural family planning services, as well as physicians who perform in vitro fertilization and fetal reduction, which are morally excluded. It also notes the hospitals' advance directive information does not specify Catholic teachings around nutrition and hydration.

5. (Picture added.)

7. (See “Daniel Murphy: a Christian on baseball's center stage.”)
See “Saint Francis of Assisi was not a garden gnome.”
See “Yet again, the fort's ‘been betrayed even by those
who should have defended it.’"

23. “In 2012 he [Bishop Thomas Olmstead] admonished a then-Catholic hospital, St.
Joseph's, to either stop advocating for an abortion that was allegedly performed to save
the life of the mother or to no longer consider itself Catholic. Knowing that the proper
procedures had not been done in advance of the abortion, Olmsted stressed the facts that
‘an unborn child is not a disease’ and that the ‘the end does not justify the means.’ To
make his point clear, he followed up by saying, ‘Catholics and all people of good will
are advised that they cannot be guaranteed authentic Catholic health care at St. Joseph's
Hospital’” (RenewAmerica, 10/10/15). Among OBGYNs with privileges in “Catholic”
hospitals in our own Archdiocese, there is/are
o a paucity of NFP-only physicians! (This blogger has been unable to identify any OBGYN in
the directory of the Mercy Health System of Southeast Pa who is also on One More Soul's list of
NFP only OBGYNs. St Mary Medical Center's directory includes one OB/GYN who can be found
on the NFP-only list, but 27 others cannot be found. Holy Redeemer's physician directory
includes one OB/GYN who can be found on the NFP-only list, but 21 others cannot. )
o privileges for IVF specialists! (Holy Redeemer's directory actually includes 6 physicians (i.e., 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6) from Reproductive Medicine Associates of Philadelphia and Abington
Reproductive Medicine, where people can choose from a smorgasbord of morally excluded
services.)
o privileges for associates of a practictioner reportedly involved with so-called fetal reduction! (St.
Mary's directory includes three perinatologists (i.e., 1, 2, and 3) from Abington Perinatal
Associates, where one associate is reported to be involved with fetal "reduction" (See # 1, # 2,
and # 3.). )
In addition, Holy Redeemer's Making Your Own Health Care Decisions
(http://www.holyredeemer.com/Main/AdvanceDirective.aspx) certainly does not appear to
specify 1) Catholic teaching with regard to nutrition and hydration, and that 2) health
care services cannot honor advance directives (e.g., non-specific directives to forego
nutrition and hydration) opposed to Catholic teaching (See CDF's Responses to Certain
Questions of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Concerning Artificial
Nutrition and Hydration and the USCCB's Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic
Health Care Services, #58.).
Please Email Archbishop Chaput.