September 27, 2007
Catholic Bishops In CT Will Comply With Plan B Law
by Christopher Keating
The Hartford Courant
In a major softening of their position, the state's Catholic bishops announced today that Catholic hospitals would comply with a new law that takes effect Monday that requires them to dispense emergency contraceptive pills to rape victims.
The Catholic church had lobbied strongly against the proposal at the state Capitol for more than one year, and some insiders believed the Church might file a lawsuit to block the law. Church officials, though, had said only that they were considering their options and never said that they would file a suit.
"The Bishops and other Catholic health care leaders believe that this law is seriously flawed, but not sufficiently to bar compliance with it at the present time,'' the bishops said in a statement. "We continue to believe this law should be changed.''
The bishops, however, said it is sufficient to require a pregnancy test before the emergency contraceptive is administered to the rape victim. The pregnancy test and an ovulation test had been at the center of the controversy as the legislature debated the bill.
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