no right or wrong

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 27, 2007

Lawmakers in Connecticut just don't understand why Catholic officials wouldn't want to dispense "emergency contraception" (which often means abortifacient) pills to rape victims in Church-administered hospitals. And politicians don't protect what they don't understand, so the state senate passed legislation requiring hospitals to furnish the pills.

But wait. In a nod to the delicate Catholic conscience, the senators offered a compromise plan: Catholic hospitals could have nurses come in from outside to administer the pills. That way, the hospitals could claim innocence. Unborn babies would still die, but the employees at the Catholic hospital wouldn't have done the killing themselves. They would only have watched. What could be fairer than that?

But if you read the whole story, you realize that the lawmakers aren't the only ones causing confusion. For one thing, senators had trouble understanding why the rules of Catholic morality seemd to shift according to geography:

Supporters of the legislation also cited the differing stances of the Catholic churches in the different states. "What is ethical (for Catholic hospitals) in New York … and what is ethical in New Jersey, is evidently something that is not ethical in Connecticut," said state Sen. Toni N. Harp, D-New Haven.

She has a point, you know. Catholic leaders need to do a better job explaining what's right and wrong, and why.

Oh, wait a minute again. Here it comes, a few paragraphs down. Barry Feldman, spokesman for the Connecticut bishops, is presenting his case:

"When it comes to religious beliefs and moral values, no position is right or wrong," said Feldman.

I give up.