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Bp. Michael Olson: “The inherent dignity of human life requires that we not cling to this life.”
Texas bishops on Wednesday used the authority of the Catholic Church to justify robbing vital health decisions from patients or their families. Michael Olson, bishop of Fort Worth, testified at the Texas capitol in favor of placing treatment decisions [solely] into the hands of doctors and a so-called qualified third-party surrogate.
During his testimony, Olson made a false comparison between choosing life and becoming transgender.
Bp. Olson: “It’s not unlike a patient that comes in and demands hormonal treatment at the age of 13 or 14 because of transgender therapy. And a physician says to the patient or parents, ‘I don’t think this is right. I think it is morally unethical, and I’m not going to do this.'”
In his own diocese, Cook Children’s Hospital told the mother of Tinslee Lewis in November 2019 her daughter would be dead within six months after implementing a rule giving her only 10 days to find another hospital or they’d remove care.
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler and retired bishop René Gracida opposed the conference of Texas bishops in court on Lewis’ behalf. The 2-year-old Lewis is still being denied treatment, which would allow for a hospital transfer.
John Seago, legislative director for Texas Right to Life, summed up the goal of faux-life groups:
The law was described as balancing patient autonomy and professional integrity. Those two things we’ve been hearing about. But we see that after 20 years of practice, it’s not a balance at all. In fact, it resolves a conflict between two parties by removing one of the parties — by actually killing one of the parties. That’s not conflict resolution; that’s injustice.
Elizabeth Graham, director for Texas Right to Life, challenged the notion hospitals rarely remove treatment against patients’ wishes:
I’ve heard that this rarely happens. Well, if it only happens five times in 20 years, that’s great, but we actually have four active cases going right now and take about 8–10 cases a month. These are from rural hospitals and major metropolitan areas. These cases are not rare.
Texas state legislators are being misled on authentic Catholic teaching by those with a vested interest in preserving hospital authority. True Catholic leadership is needed to preserve all life, from the preborn to the disabled elderly.
