What Is Frightning About ACLU Lawsuit Against The Catholic Bishops

I have to say I am tad underwhelmed over some significant analysis ( legal and otherwise ) on the Michigan ACLU lawsuit against the United States Catholic Bishop's Conference.

One aspect of this I would like covered is how much internal discussion . disagreement with the ACLU itself is happening over the actions of it's Michigan chapter. HOPEFULLY THERE IS SOME. If not it is a sign that perhaps the ACLU has decided one issue overrides all other RIGHTS.


Rick Plasterer over at Juicy Ecumenism has the facts on the lawsuit and it's implications at The ACLU Bids to Make a Beginning of the End of Religious Health Care .

He says in part :

What makes the case especially scary (and telling), is the clear attempt to tie religious doctrine to legal harm. Rather than suing the hospital, the ACLU is suing the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for their directives to Catholic health providers that prescribe medical care according to religious principles. Once the strategic bridgehead is established that Catholic moral teaching is harming good medical care and the government may restrict it, ever more restrictions will be introduced on this and all the other issues of the “culture war” over sex and religion. Religious principles will then be increasingly understood to cause harm in medical care, advancing the claim that they cause harm in the public world of business and the professions, and must be excluded from the actions of anyone serving the public. Beyond this, to advocate or counsel religious actions deemed harmful to the state’s understanding of the good life also become suspect. Currently, the mayor-elect of New York, Bill de Blasio, proposes to shut down the city’s crisis pregnancy centers, which offer alternatives to abortion, while in Germany, books advocating spanking are banned .

Bear in mind the Bishop's Conference does not own any of these hospitals. It is just the fact that Bishop's speak out and say to be Catholic one must do X if one's wants to have that label is enough !

Anyone at the ACLU concerned about the speech and religious freedom issues or is restrict rights by tort litigation all A OK !