PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and Catholic Health Initiatives until recently were considering joining together. ACLU is concerned that such a merger would have jeopardized reproductive and end-of-life care options. Even with a merger, a majority of health care facilities are secular. Let the ACLU community use the secular facilities, and the Catholic/religious community use the religious-based facilities. We still have freedom of choice.
History tells us that missionaries brought most health care to the early people of this country. They must have done a good job, because 200-plus years later, they are still involved in health care. The ACLU people should be thankful for the health care available and for the Catholic/Christian people who pioneered much of that excellence.
Virginia Bruce
Battle Ground
