catholic Health Initiatives has a little problem.

Catholic Health Initiatives, the Englewood-based nonprofit that runs St. Thomas More Hospital as well as roughly 170 other health facilities in 17 states. Last year, the hospital chain reported national assets of $15 billion.

In a time of skyrocketing health care costs it looks like business is booming.  I guess if you can’t get your followers to donate enough money to cover all of your sex abuse settlements you have to make money somewhere else.

The story started when Lori Stodghill rushed to the St. Thomas More hospital.  She was vomiting, short of breath and pregnant.  It appears that catholic health does not always follow best medical practices and defers to a bunch of old guys with funny hats…

Catholic Health facilities seek to follow the Ethical and Religious Directives of the Catholic Church authored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Those rules have stirred controversy for decades…

Hospitals should make their choices on the best medical techniques and knowledge not silly rules made by a church.

Sadly, Mrs. Stodghill died only an hour after she arrived at the hospital.  Her husband has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.  Not just for the death of his wife but for the death of the twins.  He is arguing that caesarian-section would not have saved his wife but would have saved the twins.

An interesting argument and one that is not without merit.  However, when money is on the line this catholic organization argues that fetuses are not persons.  You heard that right, fetuses are not people.  They spend millions of dollars pushing for laws that will give rights to fetuses but when they are at risk of losing money they have a different opinion.

As Jason Langley, an attorney with Denver-based Kennedy Childs, argued in one of the briefs he filed for the defense, the court “should not overturn the long-standing rule in Colorado that the term ‘person,’ as is used in the Wrongful Death Act, encompasses only individuals born alive. Colorado state courts define ‘person’ under the Act to include only those born alive. Therefore Plaintiffs cannot maintain wrongful death claims based on two unborn fetuses.”