Catholic Review Online: Health care workers urged to fight for conscience rights

The Catholic Review contains two stories which touch on the conscience rights of physicians that are in jeopardy.

George P. Matysek, Jr. covers the symposium on conscience rights that took place May 9th at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. This was the first symposium of what may become an annual event to be sponsored by Archbishop Edwin O'Brien. Dr. Janet Smith of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit gave the keynote address:

In the keynote address, Dr. Janet Smith, Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, outlined the church’s teachings on conscience – emphasizing that conscience isn’t an opinion about what’s right and wrong; it is “listening to the voice of God within.”

“There is an erroneous view of conscience that says individuals independently are faced with their own truth,” Dr. Smith said.

Addressing the church’s teachings on sexuality, Dr. Smith said the sexual act “should express a willingness to have a lifetime commitment.”

“Contraceptive sex says I want momentary pleasure with you now and who cares about tomorrow,” she said.

Dr. Smith called the prescribing of birth control an “anti-woman act” because of the “serious health risks” associated with contraception. She noted that Johnson and Johnson spent $68 million to settle cases with women who suffered blood clots, heart attacks or strokes after using the company’s birth-control patch.

“We’re treating a woman’s body as if it’s defective,” she said. “The reality is that fertility is good.”

Click here to read the article in its entirety and to see the full list of speakers.

Archbishop O'Brien in his column, "Thoughts on Our Church," entitled his article, "Protecting the Voice of God Within." His Excellency puts the entire symposium into total perspective:

The accompanying article by George Matysek in this week’s Catholic Review provides a more detailed look at the threat this legislation poses to Catholic healthcare workers and the strong support offered by the presenters who spoke at Saturday’s symposium. It is our hope that this effort will develop into an annual speaking event bringing together healthcare professionals and ethicists to share mutual insights and concerns and to deepen our appreciation of the rich tradition of Catholic moral theology. To see video of the entire symposium, I encourage you to visit www.archbalt.org.

I urge you to read both of these important articles and to ponder to what extent healthcare is now at a crossroads in our Nation.