A federal court has dismissed the case
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) v. Trinity Health Corporation (THC),
which sought to force Catholic hospitals and staff members to perform abortions
regardless of their religious beliefs or personal objections to the procedure.
The suit was filed by the ACLU in October of
2015. [THC is one of the largest
Catholic hospital systems in the country.]
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Michigan, Southern Division, in its dismissal order in ACLU v. THC called
the ACLU’s claims of harm from the hospital system’s pro-life position
“dubious” … explaining that they haven’t satisfied the legal requirements to
demonstrate such harm and therefore bring a lawsuit.
The court additionally found that, for those
reasons and others, the lawsuit is not “ripe for review” … meaning that nothing
has happened to warrant court action: “Obviously, pregnancy alone is not a
‘particular condition’ that requires the termination of said pregnancy. To find the claim to be ripe for review on the
facts pleaded before this Court would be to grant a cause of action to every
pregnant woman in the state of Michigan upon the date of conception. Accordingly, the alleged harm has not risen beyond
a speculative nature and is not ripe for review.”
Praise the Lord for a wise decision by the
court. Conscience rights need to be
protected, and Catholic hospitals have a right to not be forced to violate
their beliefs. For that matter, so do
wedding cake bakers and photographers; bed and breakfast owners; and clergy who
will not officiate over same-sex marriages.
Rev. Dr.
Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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