The state of Washington’s attorney general just said the darnedest thing. In response to questions about a Catholic hospital merging with another hospital, state Attorney General Robert Ferguson seems to have said that if a hospital received taxpayer funding and has a maternity ward it must also abort babies or refer to abortion clinics.
I’m serious. Here’s how the Seattle Times reported it.
Washington hospital districts that receive tax funding and provide maternity services or information to women must also provide equivalent services or information about contraceptives and abortion, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a legal opinion released Wednesday.
You know what gets me here. The word “equivalent.” There’s nothing “equivalent” about giving birth and killing the unborn. In fact, it’s the opposite of “equivalent.”
Mind you, this AG’s word is not law. Not yet. But he’s still an AG, which is a pretty powerful post. It’s not like nothing will come of it. But what does this say for Catholic hospitals in Washington? Will they be forced to perform abortions or refer for abortions because they have a maternity ward?
This makes no sense. Since they also feed patients should hospitals also starve people. Oh wait, a lot of them do that now anyway.
The ACLU has its pom-poms out for Ferguson calling his decision “an important step forward” with implications for “reproductive services, end of life care and LGBT services.
Wow.
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