Spirituality, Religion, Faith & Beliefs

[stayclassy]

I think the church needs to make up its mind.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/26/us/colorado-fetus-lawsuit/index.html

Canon City, Colorado (CNN) -- Life begins at conception, according to the Catholic Church, but in a wrongful death suit in Colorado, a Catholic health care company has argued just the opposite.

A fetus is not legally a person until it is born, the hospital's lawyers have claimed in its defense. And now it may be up to the state's Supreme Court to decide.

Lori Stodghill was 28 weeks pregnant when she went to the emergency room of St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City vomiting and short of breath, according to a court document.

She went into cardiac arrest in the lobby.

"Lori looked up at me, and then her head went down on her chest," said her husband, Jeremy Stodghill.

She died at age 31. Her unborn twin boys perished with her. That was New Year's Day 2006.

Stodghill, left behind to raise their then-2-year-old daughter alone, sued the hospital and its owner, Catholic Health Initiatives, for the wrongful deaths of all three.

After about two years of litigation, defense attorneys for the hospital and doctors entered an argument that shocked the widower.

They said that under state law, an embryo is not person until it is born alive, according to court documents. The Stodghills' twins were deceased when they were removed from their mother's lifeless body.

"I didn't even get to hold them," Jeremy Stodghill said. "I have an autopsy picture. That's all I've got."

The court agreed with the argument, and Stodghill lost the suit. The court also ruled against Stodghill in the case of his wife for other legal reasons.

The hospital and doctors then sued him for over $118,000 legal fees and attempted to garnish his wages, according to a legal document filed on his behalf.

The defendants offered to forget the fees if Stodghill dropped his appeal. He refused and filed for bankruptcy to avoid having to pay the claim, which he says he can't afford as he struggles to raise his now-9-year-old daughter, Libby.

Stodghill has petitioned the Colorado Supreme Court to hear his case, and he'd like to hear from the Catholic Church.

Representatives of the Catholic bishops of Colorado declined to comment on the legal proceedings, but said they will review the litigation and Catholic Health Initiatives' practices "to ensure fidelity and faithful witness to the teachings of the Catholic Church."

Catholic Health Initiatives would not speak to CNN on camera, but said in a statement, "In this case... as Catholic organizations, (we) are in union with the moral teachings of the Church."

Stodghill wears a tattoo on his chest with his unborn sons' footprints, their names and the words "our sons."

He wants the church and his state to see them the same way.

[Nyctimene]

Clearly it's a fetus unless and until they have to pay for it Just like homosexuality is wrong unless it's one of their Priests. Or pedophilia.

[stayclassy]

---

Nyctimene wrote:
Clearly it's a fetus unless and until they have to pay for it Just like homosexuality is wrong unless it's one of their Priests. Or pedophilia.

---

Exactly.

Plus I can't believe they turned around and sued the father. What happened to "turn the other cheek?" It's nice to twist your own rules to your benefit.

[flamingoccm]

If you read it though, it says that they're simply using the law, which says a fetus is not a person. If you really want a separation of church and state, you can't expect them to go to court with doctrine and try to pass it off as law. I think what happened is awful, but I don't exaclty blame the hospital for going with the law. However, I do think it's disgusting that they're now trying to bury this guy with $118K in legal fees. I mean, let him try to appeal it! When you go and try to spearhead this guy, it makes you look so much more guilty because you're just trying to legally and financially outmaneuver him. It's stops being about right and wrong and just starts turning into douchebaggery, for lack of a better term.

http://coloradoindependent.com/126808/in-malpractice-case-catholic-hospital-argues-fetuses-arent-peo...

As for this case, when you look at multiple reports of what happened, there was nothing the hospital could do. She came in having a massive heart attack after a pulmonary embolism. More or less...she didn't have a chance of survivng that. Once the mother died, there is only about 3 minutes to evacuate the fetuses before they die as well. If the OB wasn't there to begin with, the babies didn't stand a chance either. It's absolutely tragic...But I'm not sure why the hospital is now trying to add insult to injury.

[stayclassy]

I'm not arguing about why the fetus died. I do find it funny that their beliefs can be thrown out once the law comes in. It seems to me that the beliefs mean nothing because the law prevails in the end. So the church can spend their time in making women who abort feel guilty and horrible about themselves or call them all kinds of names but once they gotta pay up, they don't need to stick to their beliefs.

[hotjamale]

I can get why they'd use the law in their favour, but wouldn't God see that as sooo wrong? I don't think anyone has any right to preach something they aren't prepared to practice.

[flamingoccm]

---

stayclassy wrote:

I'm not arguing about why the fetus died. I do find it funny that their beliefs can be thrown out once the law comes in. It seems to me that the beliefs mean nothing because the law prevails in the end. So the church can spend their time in making women who abort feel guilty and horrible about themselves or call them all kinds of names but once they gotta pay up, they don't need to stick to their beliefs.

---

But is it their beliefs? I believe this was all about lawyers.  

[stayclassy]

---

flamingoccm wrote:

---

stayclassy wrote:

I'm not arguing about why the fetus died. I do find it funny that their beliefs can be thrown out once the law comes in. It seems to me that the beliefs mean nothing because the law prevails in the end. So the church can spend their time in making women who abort feel guilty and horrible about themselves or call them all kinds of names but once they gotta pay up, they don't need to stick to their beliefs.

---

But is it their beliefs? I believe this was all about lawyers.  

---

The church pays the lawyers though. The lawyers wouldn't even be involved if the church stood by their belief and either paid the father or it could have gone a different way if the lawyers had made a different case showing why they couldn't save the fetus.

To me it seems, "god says so and so" unless you're getting sued in which case you're free to drop your beliefs.

[stayclassy]

---

hotjamale wrote:

I can get why they'd use the law in their favour, but wouldn't God see that as sooo wrong? I don't think anyone has any right to preach something they aren't prepared to practice.

---

Like I said, "stick to your beliefs... unless you're getting sued, then feel free to change your rules."

[Asmador]

A lot of trouble could be saved in general if people would choose one belief or the other and stand by it, and not turn hypocritical the second it begins to inconvinence them.