1. HHS expected to propose health care rule on abortion, transgender services, By Tom Tracy, Catholic News Service, April 5, 2022
Leadership at the Catholic Benefits Association believes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will soon announce new regulations that may pose an existential threat to religious-based employers including Catholic hospitals.
Discovery of a 74-page legal memorandum attached to a court filing from a consortium of 30 sexual rights groups last year revealed that HHS has promised to revise its mandates on health plan coverage and performance to include surgical abortion, cross-sex hormones, gender-transition surgeries, gender-affirming cosmetic surgeries and voice modification — along with a host of expanded services dealing with fertility treatments, contraception, abortifacients and sterilizations.
It is believed that sometime in April, HHS could announce the proposed regulations, which would not only disallow religious exemptions but would have a broad cost and compliance impact on all U.S. employers.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2022/04/hhs-expected-to-propose-health-care-rule-on-abortion-transgender-services
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2. Colorado governor signs law to protect abortion rights, By James Anderson, Associated Press, April 4, 2022, 5:33 PM
Colorado joined a handful of other states Monday in codifying the right to abortion in statute, a party-line response to efforts across the country to limit abortion access in anticipation of a pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling on a challenge to the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that banned states from outlawing abortion.
Gov. Jared Polis signed into law the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which passed the Democratic-led Legislature after dozens of hours of testimony by residents and fierce opposition by minority Republicans. The law guarantees access to reproductive care before and after pregnancy and bans local governments from imposing their own restrictions.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/colorado-governor-signs-law-to-protect-abortion-rights/2022/04/04/8f9778d0-b44c-11ec-8358-20aa16355fb4_story.html
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3. Tennessee advancing bill banning abortion pills by mail, By Kimberlee Kruesi, Associated Press, April 4, 2022
Tennessee Republicans are advancing legislation that would strictly regulate the dispensing of abortion pills, including imposing harsh penalties on doctors who violate them.
The bill is part of a coordinated nationwide effort by anti-abortion groups responding to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision allowing women to pick up the abortion medication in person.
https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-business-tennessee-medication-6b230381b71f55e778a75104a9bcc0cd
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4. Despite criticisms, bishop believes German Catholics share path with pope, By Barb Fraze, Catholic News Service, April 4, 2022
Some European bishops have publicly voiced concerns about Germany’s Synodal Path process, warning it could divide the Catholic Church. But Limburg Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German bishops’ conference, has continued to defend it and believes German Catholics are on the same path Pope Francis has called for in his quest for a more synodal church.
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In his 2019 letter, Pope Francis emphasized that taking a synodal path is a process that must be guided by the Holy Spirit with patience and not a “search for immediate results that generate quick and immediate consequences.” Transformation “calls for pastoral conversion,” he said.
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Bätzing said the German Church was doing exactly what Pope Francis asked of the nation’s Catholics in 2019, that is, embarking on a “spiritual journey in asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-europe/2022/04/despite-criticisms-bishop-believes-german-catholics-share-path-with-pope
___________________________________________________________TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association.
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