a chartered guild of the Catholic Medical Association
We are excited to help spread the word about the newly-formed Rochester Chapter of the Society of Catholic Scientists! They, in collaboration with the Agathon Institute are hosting what promises to be an intriguing and thought-provoking lecture on April 7…we hope to see you there!
Catholic Medical Association Files Amicus Brief to Protect New York Health Care Workers from Discriminatory Vaccine Mandate
Philadelphia, PA-March 21, 2022- Catholic Medical Association has taken action against the State of New York, filing an amicus brief to protect health care workers from a discriminatory vaccine mandate.
The brief was filed on March 18th by attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of CMA after New York removed religious exemptions from its original mandate.
“The right to conscience is critical to ensuring dignified health care, this principle must also extend to health care professionals when choosing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination or not,” said Craig Treptow, M.D., President of CMA.
“As we have said in our previous statement on this matter, as an organization, CMA opposes mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment without conscience or religious exemptions,” added Dr. Treptow.
In part, CMA states in it’s amicus brief:
As part of its work, CMA advocates for the right of its members to obey their conscience and Catholic teaching in their medical work. While CMA members share diverse views on the COVID-19 vaccine and its ethical application, CMA believes that members should decide this issue for themselves. So, CMA opposes discriminatory laws—like New York’s health- care worker mandate—that coerce its members to make healthcare decisions over their sincere religious objections. This brief shows the religious discrimination that CMA members have faced in New York, the human cost of this discrimination, and how it has severely weakened New York’s healthcare system.
“Health care workers, like every other member of the American workforce, are free to live and work according to their religious beliefs. Yet by removing the religious exemption to its vaccine mandate, the state of New York is discriminating against people of faith—firing many skilled medical professionals and vindictively barring them and their families from unemployment benefits,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy, John Bursch. CMA and Alliance Defending Freedom urge The Supreme Court to hear this case to protect New York health care workers and the state’s entire health care system.
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The Catholic Medical Association is a national, physician-led community of 2,400 healthcare professionals consisting of 115 local guilds. CMA’s mission is to inform, organize, and inspire its members, in steadfast fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church, to uphold the principles of the Catholic faith in the science and practice of medicine.
Jill Blumenfeld
blumenfeld@cathmed.org cathmed.org
We are excited to help spread the word about two upcoming events…
Dr. Gabrielle Girgis, PhD.
“Religion and Politics: Modern Religious Freedom Conflicts”
Monday, March 14, 7:30pm
Golisano Hall (bldg. 070), room 1400
Rochester Institute of Technology
Please pray for a conversion of heart for all who voted in favor…especially the Catholic senators listed in the article!
This an interesting article. Here is a quick summary.
In Italy Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) is currently legal while Euthanasia is not. A recent popular referendum in favor of legalizing Euthanasia was rejected by the Italian court based on concerns that the proposed law did not provide sufficient protections for the venerable.
Now, two members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Jesuit Father Carlo Casalone and Dr. Marie-Jo Thiel, have argued that the Church should take the position that it would be morally acceptable to support legislation legalizing PAS as a strategic move to prevent legalization of Euthanasia. On its face this is a tempting (literally, see the Screwtape quote below!) position to take.
They liken this position to that of the Church, or a Catholic politician, supporting intermediate legislation that increases restrictions on abortion, say from 24 weeks to 16 weeks, rather than outlawing abortion outright as being acceptable so long as efforts continue to ultimately outlaw abortion.
This analogy is clearly inappropriate. In the case of the abortion law, the Catholic politician is supporting a bill that decreases the performance of the illicit action without promoting an alternative illicit action.
A more apt analogy would be suggesting that a Catholic politician could support the morning after pill (an abortifacient) in hopes that this would make the legalization of abortion less likely. Abortion is not “better” than the morning after pill just like PAS is not “better” than euthanasia.
All four are the fodder of mortal sin, regardless of whether one seems “worse” than another. Consider the warning in the advice given by Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood,
You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
Finally, perhaps Fr Casalone and Dr. Thiel would rethink their position if they were forced to use what appears to be the literal translation of the pertinent Italian term: Homicide of the Consenting
One seeming downside of the ruling is the primary reason given by the court is “inadequate legal protections for the weak and vulnerable.” This sounds like it invites future legalization efforts that ‘better’ address such concerns. While we certainly join the Italian Bishops in welcoming this ruling, it would be nice to see the Court reject this on moral groups. Sadly, this seems like a pipe dream in our modern world.
As an aside…
Their term for what we call PAS is interesting (assuming it’s accurately translated into English): Homicide of the Consenting.
Though the term is, to say the least, unlikely to catch on here in the US, it does have the advantages of being inclusive and accurate!
The CMA will be hosting its 10th Annual Boot Camp in Florida from June 12-19, 2022. This is a wonderful opportunity, those who have attended in the past have had only good things to say!
The CMA offers this for the nominal cost of $50, though you do have to get there. If travel costs are prohibitively expensive, please contact us, we’d be happy to consider how the Guild could help!
Check out the newly-formed Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance!
(Thank you to the NCBC for the heads up!)
Dr. Ontiveros, who serves on the FLG Board, would like to share a wonderful opportunity to support local high school and college students in the Wester NY region in their pursuit of a the true Liberal Arts!
Check out their Spring Seminar Series
Thank you to St. Bernard’s for helping us make the videos from Catholic Conversations – Death with True Dignity available! Check them out here!
