Reply #113: There are more and more Catholic-owned hospitals -- And YES, they do [View All]

[nicknameless]

refuse to perform some procedures, such as tubal ligations for women.
Especially notorious are the cases where women went to the hospitals to give birth and wanted to have the tubal ligation procedure done at the same time ... only to have the doctors refuse.

They're following the church's 70-point "Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services"

Especially in areas where there aren't that many choices in hospitals, this is a horrible circumstance for women.

Other restrictions/refused services:
http://www.ripsawnews.com/2001.03.07/feature.html

The Directives prohibit any medical procedure forbidden by Catholic moral teaching, including abortion under any circumstance, contraception (including birth control pills prescribed for endometriosis or ovarian cysts), tubal ligations and vasectomies, in vitro or artificial fertilization, the distribution of condoms (even to married HIV-positive patients wishing to protect their spouses), and any end-of-life instructions that run counter to church teachings.