Catholics for Choice and The Overreach Monitor Release Two New Resources on Catholic Healthcare
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Phone: 202-986-6093
Email: media@catholicsforchoice.org
Catholics for Choice and The Overreach Monitor Release Two New Resources on Catholic Healthcare
The Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) restrictions on reproductive and gender-affirming care are a dangerous application of religious doctrine over medical expertise
WASHINGTON — Catholics for Choice, which serves the pro-choice Catholic majority, announced the release of two new resources meant to demystify the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Services (ERDs) and their effect on patients, medical professionals, and all those concerned with equitable healthcare. These pieces will expose that, while founded by Catholic sisters and nuns seeking to serve the most marginalized in society, this now-massive industry elevates the religious doctrine of the Catholic bishops, especially with regard to reproductive and gender-affirming care, over the advice of medical professionals and the needs of patients.
- The Doctrine Will See You Now: Your Guide to Catholic Healthcare is a community-oriented, interactive tool to support people in determining whether their healthcare provider may be subject to Catholic healthcare restrictions. It includes a form-based checklist that allows people to examine their primary hospital, urgent care, or other medical center and the influence of religious overreach on their care.
- Opposition Notes: The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare is a three-part series on Substack that investigates the ERDs, their history, and how they have been and could continue to be applied to restrict reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare. The series launched today and will continue through early September.
“Every hospital and healthcare institution labeled as ‘Catholic’ — and even some that aren’t — is subject to a set of religious rules called the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Services (ERDs). These 77 directives dictate the required behavior of every employee at a Catholic health institution, regardless of their religious convictions or lack thereof,” says the opening piece in the series, written by Catholics for Choice Senior Advisor Kate Hoeting, MTS. “The worst part? Doctors don’t publish these directives. They’re issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who dictate what medical procedures can be performed at Catholic hospitals, regardless of what doctors recommend or patients need.”
“As a Catholic organization, Catholics for Choice is uniquely qualified to challenge the bishops’ restrictions. Our faith teaches us that healthcare is a human right, and to center the needs of the most marginalized in our community. Surely Catholic hospitals should not be turning away people experiencing medical emergencies, but as this series will expose, stories of religious doctrine usurping patients’ medical needs are too common,” said Chris Wimbush, Co-President of Catholics for Choice and Publisher of The Overreach Monitor. “Our hope is that these pieces will help patients denied care feel seen and emboldened to share their story, inform healthcare policy experts and advocates about the dangers of a narrow set of religious doctrine overwhelming our medical care, and inspire all people to be more outspoken that we want doctors, not doctrine, guiding our medical decisions.”
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Catholics for Choice — which serves the pro-choice Catholic majority — encounters, educates, and emboldens people of faith who support reproductive freedom.
