ACLU wants hospital deals delayed
Courtesy: uwmedicine.org
SEATTLE -- Citing the impact of tax-funded hospitals joining with Catholic health care organizations, the ACLU is asking public hospitals in Arlington, Mount Vernon and Anacortes for a six-month delay in choosing a business partner, the Everett Herald reported. Four proposals are currently under consideration, including two from Catholic health care organizations.
A letter from the ACLU of Washington, signed by 11 other community groups, said the church's religious directives can conflict with patient choices on birth control, in vitro fertilization and end-of-life issues such as assisted suicide, according to the Herald.
Sarah Dunne, legal director for the ACLU of Washington, said the organziation is not asking for the two Catholic health care organizations to be removed from consideration. The ACLU just wants the groups to ensure in their proposals that members of the public have "the full range of medical care allowed under the law," she told the Herald.
Read more from the Herald here.