In some extremist anti-choice circles, full-throated woman-hating never went away. But among other “mainstream” anti-choice groups, latent mysogyny is now out in the open.

Written by Carol Joffe for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

The Archdiocese misrepresents church law to defend the excommunication of a nun who helped save a woman’s life by helping her access an abortion. Catholics for Choice calls out the inaccuracies with some clarification of canon law.

Written by Jon O’Brien for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

A nun is excommunicated for saving the life of a pregnant woman; doctors point to restrictions placed on their medical judgment as to what is best for pregnant patients. Are Catholic hospitals safe for pregnant women?

Written by Robin Marty for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Since November, when the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted to change the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care, I have written frequently how the new policy could result in continued tube feeding for thousands of unconscious and severely demented patients in Catholic hospitals and nursing homes. Newly released research highlights the problem.

Sometimes the struggle for the reproductive justice and the dignity and freedom of women and girls takes on especially compelling and tragic dimensions. This is one of them.

Written by Marcy Bloom for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Compassion & Choices, the nation’s largest and oldest nonprofit organization working to improve care and expand choice at the end of life, today marked National Healthcare Decisions Day, releasing new language every American may consider to strengthen their advance directive. The new addendum, My Directive Regarding Healthcare Institutions Refusing to Honor my Healthcare Choices, is designed to protect patients in the event that they are an inpatient in an institution that will not honor their advance directive due to religious, moral or ethics policies. Individuals might find themselves in such an institution due to an unplanned emergency or because circumstances provide them no other choice.

Who is Bart Stupak and why was he fronting for the far right in the health care debate? An analysis of Stupak’s political record and past history reveals that he was the perfect man for the job: a consistently anti-choice Democrat who isn’t worried about reelection, who has a strong connection to the Religious Right and who has done their bidding before.

Written by Ariana Childs Graham for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

In Wisconsin, two organizations join forces to provide facts to the public on emergency contraception and to make sure Catholic women know the Church permits use of EC in case of rape.

Written by Lon Newman for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

I have written how recent changes to Ethical and Religious Directive (ERD) Number 58 compel Catholic hospitals and nursing homes to either disregard your end-of-life choices or violate the letter of the Directive.

The powerful Catholic Health Association says Compassion & Choices and I are exaggerating; the change is insignificant.

To bolster its claim of “no change” CHA points to another Directive, Number 59, that the free and informed judgment of patients should always be respected. What CHA fails to note is the condition at the end of that sentence, “unless contrary to Catholic moral teaching.”

On November 17, 2009, with little fanfare, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a directive for Catholic health care that could bring distress and grief to hundreds of thousands of American families each year. Compassion & Choices wants you to know how this limits your healthcare choices.