About
The UCSF Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health was formed in 1999 to address the health, social, and economic consequences of sex and reproduction through research and training in contraception, family planning, and STIs. The Bixby Center strives to develop preventive solutions to the most pressing domestic and international reproductive health problems.
Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health
Safe Motherhood (1)
When There’s a Heartbeat: Miscarriage Management in Catholic-Owned Hospitals
As Catholic-owned hospitals
merge with or take over other
facilities, they impose restrictionsonreproductivehealth
services,
including abortion and
contraceptive services. Our interviews
with US obstetrician–
gynecologists working in Catholic-
owned hospitals revealed
that they are also restricted in
managing miscarriages.
Catholic-owned hospital
ethics committees denied approval
of uterine evacuation
while fetal heart tones
were still present, forcing physicians
to delay care or transport
miscarrying patients to
non–Catholic-owned facilities.
Some physicians intentionally
violated protocol because they
felt patient safetywas compromised.
Although Catholic doctrine
officially deems abortion
permissible to preserve the life
of the woman, Catholic-owned
hospital ethics committees
differ in their interpretation of
how much health risk constitutes
a threat to a woman’s
life and therefore how much
risk must be present before
they approve the intervention.