Catholic hospitals weigh civil disobedience

Roman Catholic hospitals in the United States will neither permit abortions to be performed in their facilities nor close their doors if the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) becomes law, a bishop says. Robert Lynch, bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Petersburg, Fla., made those assertions after participating in a meeting of the Catholic Health Association (CHA). Writing on his weblog Feb. 6, Lynch said the CHA reaffirmed several actions, including: If the federal government enacts legislation requiring health-care facilities to perform abortions, “we will not comply even if our actions constitute civil disobedience.”