STATE’S NEWSPAPERS OPPOSE PRO-ABORTION ATTACK ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
February 23rd, 2006 by Peter
In an unusual convergence, the editorial pages of the liberal Hartford Courant and the conservative Waterbury Republican-American both came out today against attempts by the state’s pro-abortion establishment to force Catholic hospitals to provide the “morning-after” pill. From the Courant:
Had Plan B been approved for sale without prescription, the state might not be opening the can of worms now being discussed in the General Assembly. A bill is being proposed [that] would require all Connecticut hospitals that receive public funds to dispense emergency contraceptives to rape victims they treat. The mandate would include Roman Catholic hospitals, including St. Francis in Hartford.
It is neither necessary nor fair to force these church-based institutions to go against their fundamental beliefs. In 80 percent of Connecticut hospitals, a woman will be offered emergency contraception, according to rape crisis experts. The Catholic hospitals say it is their policy to inform rape victims where they can receive emergency contraception.
While this piece will likely add to liberal grumbling about a supposed rightward shift for the Courant’s editorial page, the paper’s position is not new. About ten years ago, when the pro-abortion front group “Catholics for a Free Choice” tried to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions, the Courant editorialized against that effort as well. Whatever our other differences with the Courant’s editors, the paper has consistently opposed efforts to force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions.
In reality, the option [to buy the morning-after pill] was widely available before [state Comptroller Nancy] Wyman engaged in her [attempt to force Wal-Mart’s Connecticut stores to carry it]. CVS, Brooks, Price Chopper and Stop & Shop pharmacies all carry Plan B. Marie Sturgis, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, said, women “can go right down the street and get the drug. They’re not cornered or victimized in any way.”
The remarks by the Massachusetts threesome, Ms. Wyman and Mr. DeStefano are clearly disingenuous. This is a battleground carefully chosen by abortion-rights advocates, not an effort to guarantee access to a contraceptive that already is easy to get.
With some Western legislatures considering strong anti-abortion laws and the U.S. Supreme Court poised to hear a potentially landmark partial-birth-abortion case, there is concern in the abortion-rights movement that restrictions could be imposed on a woman’s “right” to kill her unborn baby. The abortion industry needs a victory, and this is one battle its leaders think they can win. If they can shame Connecticut lawmakers into forcing Catholic hospitals to provide Plan B by invoking victims of rape and incest, they will have achieved their goal of placing religious institutions on a slippery slope to acceptance of the abortion-rights agenda.
