At the recent PNFPN conference, you spoke of "nightmares" at Philadelphia's Catholic hospitals. That marked quite a departure from what you previously wrote. In my opinion, those "nightmares" could be summed up as follows:
- 1) the paucity of NFP-only physicians:
I have only been able to find one OBGYN from our hospitals on One More Soul's list of NFP only OBGYNs.
- 2) "privileges" for IVF specialists:
ALL of Holy Redeemer's "Reproductive Endocrinologists and Obstetricians" are IVF specialists (i.e., Drs Larry Barnat and Jennifer Nichols of Abington Reproductive Medicine; Drs Arthur Castelbaum, Martin Freedman, and Benjamin Gocial of Reproductive Medicine Associates of Philadelphia; Dr Maria Pia Platia of Fertility and Gynecology Associates) and NONE of Holy Redeemer's obstetricians are to be found on a list of NFP-only physicians!
- 3) "privileges" for associates of practice involved with "fetal reduction":
As
per posters at FertileThoughts.com, Dr. Frank Craparo is a
practitioner
of "reduction." All of St Mary Medical Center's specialists in "Maternal Fetal
Medicine" - including Dr. Stephen Smith - are associates of Craparo at
"Abington Perinatal Associates." Smith's name had been removed from St. Mary's online directory, around the time that
the Huffington Post reported the following:
Dr. Stephen Smith of St.
Mary's performed an ultrasound on an expecting mother and confirmed that
the fetus had polycystic kidney disease, a fatal condition in infants.
Smith recommended an abortion.... local abortion opponents publicized
Smith's advice....any pledge to support Catholic doctrine on medical
matters is broadly viewed as a formality to be agreed to and then
summarily ignored."
- 4)
provision of information on "advance directives" which fails to specify
that Catholic teaching must be honored - particularly with regard to
the provision of nutrition and hydration. This in the home archdiocese
of Terri Schiavo!:
Neither Saint Mary's Advanced Directives and Living Wills, nor Holy Redeemer's Making Your Own Health Care Decisions and Advance Directive Form, nor Mercy Health System's Vendor Compliance Program, nor Lourdes' Pre Admission testing, nor St. Francis' Advance Directives properly specify
- Catholic teaching with regard to nutrition and hydration, and
- that health care services cannot honor advance directives (e.g., non-specific directives to forego nutrition and hydration) opposed to Catholic teaching.
- "Art. 11. – The
diocesan Bishop is obliged, if necessary, to make known to the faithful
the fact that the activity of a particular charitable agency is no
longer being carried out in conformity with the Church’s teaching, and
then to prohibit that agency from using the name 'Catholic' [Emphasis added.] and to take the necessary measures should personal responsibilities emerge (Apostolic Letter Issued 'Motu Proprio' of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI on the Services of Charity).
Come Judgement Day, won't each of us be answerable for situations of turning our backs and letting evil thrive?
Thank you,
