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Legislators in Victoria want to force Catholic hospitals to abort babies
Lawmakers in Victoria, Australia are proposing legislation that would compel publicly funded Catholic hospitals to provide abortion and contraception services, effectively eliminating long-standing conscientious objection protections. These hospitals currently operate under Catholic ethical guidelines that prohibit abortion and certain forms of contraception. Proponents of the bill argue that medical care should not be influenced by religious doctrine, claiming that public funding requires universal access to all legal medical procedures. Opponents warn that forcing Catholic facilities and their staff to perform abortions would violate moral and religious freedoms, causing emotional distress for healthcare workers and undermining institutional integrity.
By: Nancy Flanders
‘I Prayed for Him’: Faith, Mystery, and Meaning in Medicine
In this article, Harold Koenig, MD recounts a case in which he chose to pray for a patient enduring chronic pain, severe depression and thoughts of suicide. After back surgery left the patient in lasting agony, Koenig engaged not only in medical treatment but also daily prayer and discussion of the patient’s spiritual struggles. The article uses this story to explore how many physicians hold beliefs in a higher power and how this shapes their work even in a system that mostly views medicine as a secular, scientific endeavour. It discusses how spiritual history–taking and recognizing “sacred moments” can enhance care, lower physician burnout and address human suffering that clinical protocols cannot fully explain.
By: Eric Spitznagel
Unheard. Unserved: Woman says abortion stigma at N.S. hospital almost took her life
A woman from the Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation reported that after undergoing a medical abortion, she experienced severe bleeding at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital (Antigonish, N.S) and felt dismissed by staff. She says an ER nurse reacted dismissively when told she was having serious complications, attributing the condition to “the pill doing its job.” The hospital operates under a mission assurance agreement with the Sisters of St. Martha, which preserves Catholic values in the facility despite public funding. A nurse practitioner noted that this religious affiliation may contribute to “abortion stigma” within the hospital culture, and called the agreement “incredibly outdated.”
By: Ella Macdonald, Rebecca Lau
Good News About Christian Hospitals in Africa
A new study published finds that postoperative mortality at faith-based hospitals in East, Central, and Southern Africa is significantly lower than at other facilities: about 57% lower than at public hospitals and 47% lower than at private hospitals. The article explains that many of these hospitals operate in low-resource environments where access to safe surgical care is limited, yet they consistently deliver stronger outcomes. Researchers suggest that this success may stem from the hospitals’ mission-driven structures, ethical cultures, and deep community trust, though the exact causes remain uncertain. The study challenges assumptions about faith-based institutions being less capable in modern healthcare systems.
By: Christianity Today
Catholic hospital system sued for not providing ’emergency abortion’ as ‘standard of care’
California-based Catholic health system, Dignity Health (operating 41 hospitals), is being sued by a patient who alleges that after suffering pre-viable preterm rupture of membranes (PPROM) twice, she was not offered an abortion by two of the system’s hospitals. The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court on September 25 2025, accuses Dignity Health of violating state law governing emergency care, civil rights protection, and other statutes by not providing what the plaintiff claims is the “standard of care” in her condition.
By: Gina Christian