Milwaukee Doctor Thrives as Pro-Life OBGYN

*just ran across this article from earlier this year

The medical field — especially the discipline of obstetrics and gynecology — may not appear to be a particularly friendly environment for faithful Catholics these days.

A cursory Google search that includes any combination of the words “Catholic,” “OBGYN,” “abortion” and “referral,” will provide a glimpse into the national debate that rages over conscience protection legislation at both the state and federal levels. Even when healthcare professionals are legally excluded from the obligation to participate directly in performing abortions, there is often considerable pressure for these same professionals to refer their patients for abortions and other treatments that they consider morally objectionable.

The matter becomes even more complicated when discussing the prescription of hormonal birth control, which is prohibited by the Catholic Church, but overwhelmingly accepted and promoted by the mainstream culture, including many other Christian religions.

Regardless, Catholic doctors faithful to the teaching of the Church are obliged to be, as Pope Paul VI wrote in the encyclical Humanae Vitae, “signs of contradiction,” in the same way that their Lord was.That doesn’t mean it’s always easy. “The extreme view that is out there is, if you don’t do abortions and don’t refer for abortions, you shouldn’t be practicing OBGYN; you should be a radiologist or something,” said Dr. James Linn, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist in group practice at Columbia St. Mary’s in Milwaukee. “And if you don’t prescribe contraception, you really are crazy — you definitely should not be an OBGYN — that’s the established view.”

continue at MkeCH