Abortion rift divides bishops, Catholic hospitals

An umbrella group of Catholic hospitals is backing a Phoenix hospital
that was stripped of its church affiliation, thereby setting the stage
for another sharp conflict between the hierarchy and Catholic
health-care providers.

Sister Carol Keehan, president of the
Catholic Health Association, said St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical
Center "correctly applied" church guidelines in late 2009 when it
terminated the pregnancy of a dangerously ill woman. Catholic Healthcare
West, the parent company for St. Joseph's, is a member of the CHA,
which represents more than 620 hospitals and 60 health-care systems in
the U.S.

"They had been confronted with a heartbreaking
situation," Keehan said in a statement, adding that the hospital saved
"the only life that was possible to save."