By JOE CLINES

The hot button issue of whether or not human life begins at conception or at birth has consumed American politics and society. The issue is made larger and more polarized by the inevitable ties one’s understanding of this issue has to religious doctrines, as religious groups have long championed and lobbied for so-called “rights for the unborn.”

The law of the land, a product of the landmark Roe v. Wade (1973) ruling, is that abortion is a woman’s fundamental right, which stands at an impasse with the Catholic Church’s strong assertion that human life begins at the moment of conception.

Civil law and Church dogma came to a head recently in a complicated case involving a medical malpractice lawsuit against Catholic Health Initiatives, a Catholic organization that oversees the operation of approximately 170 health facilities nationwide, including the hospital in question in Cañon City.

At the crux of the “wrongful death” suit was the claim by the plaintiff that not enough was done to preserve the lives of the unborn twins who died alongside their mother due to a complication in the pregnancy at St. Thomas More Hospital in Cañon City, Colo. Specifically, a caesarean section procedure, which could have saved the lives of the unborn twins, was not performed by staff at the Catholic Health Initiatives-run hospital. Standing precedent involving “wrongful death” suits is that the law is applicable only to “individuals born alive,” a fact that Catholic Health Initiatives shamefully highlighted in their defense of the litigation. By acting like a corporation seeking to cover its tail (and most importantly, its assets) in the face of a lawsuit, Catholic Health Initiatives rejected the Church’s emphatic stance on the sanctity of human life at conception and did a great disservice to the word  “Catholic” in their organization’s name.

As per the mission statement of the Catholic Health Initiative’s website, the organization’s stated goal is to “emphasize human dignity” and stress “fidelity to the gospel” in its undertakings. The mission statement is followed by the assertion of core values that include “profound respect and awe for all of creation.” Perhaps the Initiative’s core values and mission statement should be interpreted as loose guidelines to be disregarded in the event of financial ramifications and scrutiny against the organization.

If the organization were secular, there would be little fault to find in its rebuttal of the “wrongful death” lawsuit. The truly upsetting matter in this case is that the organization claims ties to Catholicism but essentially allowed Catholic dogma to take a backseat for the convenience of beating a lawsuit and maintaining its all-important assets. The Catholic Health Initiative’s mission, albeit well-intentioned, has permanently been stained by the decision to place the financial stability of the organization over the beliefs that define it.

Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver, along with Bishop Sheridan of Colorado Springs and Bishop Isern of Pueblo, issued a statement earlier this week, which said, “No Catholic institution may legitimately work to undermine fundamental human dignity.”

Futhermore, the bishops “will undertake a full review of this litigation, and of the policies and practices of Catholic Health Initiatives to ensure fidelity and faithful witness to the teachings of the Catholic Church,” the statement said.

While one can find many faults with the Catholic Health Initiative’s handling of the situation, the lost opportunity to take a prominent pro-life stance in a case that will surely garner national attention is the most resounding. If the Catholic Health Initiative had stood firm on the Catholic understanding that a fetus is a human life, the organization surely would have lost the case. Doing so, however, would have highlighted the commitment and fervor the Catholic Church has shown in championing the rights of the unborn, and the polarizing case may even have reopened the discussion on abortion.

Richard Bordelon contributed reporting.

Joe Clines, FCRH ’14, is an economics major from Malverne, NY.