Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth: Victory

Action: congratulations to the Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, especially from anyone who has written before on this subject, would be nice. This is a major victory for him and for the Church in England and Wales.

From The Telegraph, in part: A fashionable Roman Catholic hospital has agreed a code of ethics barring its doctors from referring abortions or providing contraceptives, The Daily Telegraph has learned. The board of the private St John and St Elizabeth Hospital voted to implement the new code earlier this month after intense pressure from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Britain's senior Catholic leader.

The north London hospital may now face financial difficulties because it could have to abandon plans to lease part of its site to GPs who would be obliged by their NHS contracts to offer contraceptive services. According to insiders, the decision by the board may also prompt the resignation of staff who have opposed the adoption of the code.

Comment: The Board of Management has finally agreed to the new Code of Ethics proposed by the Cardinal and the other Trustees. The departure of the anti-life contingent on the staff, anticipated by the Daily Telegraph, would be very welcome. See the full Telegraph story here.