The bishops of the United States issued new guidelines that prohibit Catholic medical facilities from performing gender reassignment procedures, whether surgical or chemical, regardless of the age of the patients. This was reported on March 22 by the American Catholic portal Crux.
A 14-page statement signed by eight members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine, chaired by Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, said such interventions “they do not respect the fundamental order of the human personality as an internal unity of body and soul, with a body that has gender differences”.
The bishops point out that physical and gender differences in body structure are a fundamental aspect of human existence. They insist that the intervention associated with biological sex change “is detrimental to the human person.”
“The Hippocratic tradition in medicine calls for all medical professionals to “do no harm” above all else., is explained in the statement. .
A March 20 statement titled “Doctrinal Note on the Moral Limits of Technical Manipulation of the Human Body” was released to provide Catholic health care institutions with moral criteria for determining which medical interventions “contribute to the genuine good of the human person and which ones really hurt.” The bishops noted that the document was developed in consultation with medical ethicists, physicians, psychologists and theologians.
Remember, according to the latest data from the US Catholic Health Association, which includes more than 600 hospitals and 1,600 long-term care facilities, as well as other medical institutions, the Catholic Health Department is the largest group of non-profit healthcare. providers in the country.
On March 21, Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministries, an organization that works to unite the Catholic Church and the LGBTQ+ community, criticized the bishops for not consulting transgender or non-binary people in preparing the document.
“The unwillingness of bishops to confront any evidence from the scientific community or the experiences of transgender people is not good theology or acceptable pastoral concern.”DeBernardo said in a statement.
The gender debate in the United States has largely focused on whether it is acceptable for minors to change gender. In late January, Utah became the first state to ban this type of surgery for minors. Since then, other states have joined in considering or passing legislation to limit the proceedings.
US President Joe Biden has spoken out against restrictions on gender reassignment procedures for minors. Before the Florida ban took effect, Biden said in an interview that the law was “almost sinful,” adding that “what they’re doing is horrible.”
A March 20 statement from the US bishops said that “particular care must be taken to protect children and adolescents who are still maturing and unable to give informed consent” to sex reassignment surgery.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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