In a jaw-dropping display of hypocrisy, Catholic hospitals are declaring fetuses “not people” when it comes to limiting their financial liability in malpractice lawsuits, directly contradicting their own religious doctrine on the sanctity of life.
At a Glance
- Catholic Health Initiatives used the legal defense that fetuses aren’t legally “persons” in malpractice lawsuits to avoid financial liability
- In a Colorado case involving twins who died in utero, the hospital argued against personhood despite Catholic teaching that life begins at conception
- A similar case in Iowa shows MercyOne hospital arguing a 35-week unborn child is not a “person” under Iowa law to limit damages
- Hospital officials later admitted their legal defense was “morally wrong” and contradicted Church teachings
- The cases highlight the tension between Catholic healthcare providers’ religious principles and their financial interests
When Money Trumps Moral Doctrine
The hypocrisy is so thick you could cut it with a scalpel. Catholic hospitals across America have built their identities on unwavering pro-life principles, yet when facing medical malpractice lawsuits, they’re suddenly arguing that unborn babies aren’t people after all. In Colorado, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) found itself in an ethical quagmire after deploying a legal defense claiming fetuses aren’t people in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Jeremy Stodghill, whose wife Lori died while seven months pregnant with twins at St. Thomas More Hospital.
The hospital’s lawyers cited Colorado’s Wrongful Death Act, which doesn’t recognize fetuses as legal persons, arguing the twins weren’t eligible for wrongful death claims. This despite the Catholic Church’s foundational teaching that life begins at conception and all unborn children deserve full human dignity and protection.
The Colorado Case That Exposed the Double Standard
The details of the Colorado case are heartbreaking. In 2006, Lori Stodghill, 31, arrived at St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City suffering from shortness of breath and vomiting. She was seven months pregnant with twin boys. Within an hour, she went into cardiac arrest due to a massive blockage of her pulmonary artery. Despite emergency efforts, Lori died, and her twins died in her womb. The attending obstetrician, Dr. Pelham Staples, never answered a page to perform an emergency cesarean section that might have saved the twins.
“There’s a difference between being legal and being right. Either a fetus is a person or it’s not,” said Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Jeremy Stodghill filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming the doctor’s negligence resulted in three deaths – his wife and two sons. But Catholic Health Initiatives argued in court that while Lori’s death might qualify for wrongful death claims, the twins were merely fetuses under Colorado law, not “persons,” and therefore ineligible for such claims. Two Colorado judges agreed with the hospital’s position, but the shocking legal defense drew intense criticism from Catholic leaders and pro-life advocates alike.
Iowa Catholic Hospital Follows Same Playbook
More recently, a similar case has emerged in Iowa involving MercyOne, another Catholic healthcare provider. Miranda and Landen Anderson filed a lawsuit after the stillbirth of their daughter, Eloise, in April 2021. Miranda had shown symptoms of preeclampsia and was monitored at MercyOne’s Obstetrics Emergency Unit but was discharged without early delivery intervention. The Andersons claim this negligence led to their daughter’s death, which they believe could have been prevented with proper medical care.
“There is no statute or binding case law finding an unborn child to be a ‘patient’ under the law,” CHI’s attorneys wrote, citing a 1971 Iowa Supreme Court decision which held that damages cannot be awarded “on behalf of, or for, a nonexistent person.”
In response to the lawsuit, CHI’s attorneys have again argued that an unborn child – even at 35 weeks gestation – should not be considered a “person” under Iowa law. This legal position would limit the family’s potential damages under Iowa’s 2017 medical malpractice law. The argument stands in stark contrast to the Catholic Church’s consistent teaching that human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception.
Damage Control: The Church’s Response
After the Colorado case gained national attention, Catholic Health Initiatives scrambled to address the glaring contradiction between their legal arguments and religious principles. The hospital chain admitted that their defense was “morally wrong” and contradicted the church’s teachings. Officials met with Colorado’s Catholic bishops and agreed to adhere to Catholic doctrine regarding the sanctity of life from conception, promising to abandon the legal strategy that denied personhood to fetuses.
“That law does not consider fetuses to be persons, which directly contradicts the moral teachings of the church,” the hospital chain acknowledged in a statement after facing backlash.
The controversy emerged at a particularly awkward time, as Catholic leaders were preparing for the annual March for Life against abortion. The case also gained national significance as Catholic dioceses around the country were suing over the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act, arguing for religious freedom protections based on their belief in the sanctity of all human life from conception.
The Broader Implications
These cases highlight the troubling reality that even organizations built around moral principles can find themselves compromising those values when facing financial liability. For Catholic healthcare institutions, which operate approximately one in six hospital beds in America, the contradiction is particularly glaring. They’ve built their healthcare approach on the principle that all human life is sacred from conception, yet when facing potential financial consequences, some have been willing to adopt legal arguments that directly contradict this fundamental teaching.
The personhood debate continues to be a central battlefield in the abortion discussion, with state laws varying widely on when and whether fetuses should be granted legal rights. While Catholic hospitals have backed away from using the “not a person” defense after public outcry, these cases reveal the tension between religious principles and legal strategies when millions of dollars in potential damages are at stake. For the families who lost loved ones, the legal maneuvering adds insult to their profound grief, leaving them questioning whether these institutions truly practice the compassionate values they preach.
