Catholic Hospital Merger Deals Carry Abortion Implications

A wave of mergers involving secular and Roman Catholic medical institutions could have the effect of restricting access to abortion even in heavily Democratic states such as Washington, where legislative efforts to limit the procedure get little support, according to The New York Times.

Catholic hospitals are barred by church doctrine from performing abortions, but in a changing health-care landscape they also are attractive potential partners for small, financially struggling facilities, the Times says. If all currently proposed deals involving religious and secular medical centers in Washington go through, nearly half the state’s hospital beds would be controlled by Catholic institutions.

The mergers could also affect end-of-life care in Washington, one of two states where voters have approved doctor-assisted suicide for terminally ill people, which is also opposed by Catholic teaching.