Links for 02/11/16 | National Catholic Reporter

Links for 02/11/16 | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: There are a few issues here.  The first is whether the hospital has the right to say no to doing a procedure for ethical reasons.  It probably does - although it is usually the OB/GYN that makes these calls, they are so routine - so it is a quesiton of who gets privileges in a hospital.  Being a doctor is not being a minister, so Hossanah Tabor does not necessarily apply, but the ACLU is likely going to far on a case it is more likely to lose than win.



The next issue is whether the Church is right or not.  There are two main reasons for tubal ligation.  The first is because getting pregnant again could kill the mother - and having no sex on a regular basis is the only oher option.  Because marriage involves not fecundity but functionality, the Church is essentially ending the marriage by not permitting the procedure (in the unlikely event that the woman obeys the Church, which she should not).  The second is that the family just does not want any more kids.  Again, fecundity is not a requirement of marriage, functionality is.  In this case, though, economic reasons may predominate.



The Church needs to stop worrying about sex and instead fight for a large enough child tax credit (refundable with pay, of course) so that each new child is welcomed.  This is another case where an all male celibate priesthood is not up to the task of sorting these issues out.



On the Gilded Age question, the frame of reference is entirely wrong - it should be the advantages of the rich, not the organization of the poor.  Most industrial questions have been exported to Mexico, China and India - as well as Central America.  In many of these regions and countries, strong governments prevent the kind of organization found in late nineteenth century America.  There is little industrialization here and much of it is in southern factories employing undocumented workers who are keeping their heads down.  On the workers side, this is worse than 120 years ago.



On the golden side, advances in standards of living give everyone air conditioning, refrigeration, washers and dryers and indoor plumbing.  Almost everyone shares these advances - as well as smart phones and multiplex movies.  While there are differences in square footage between classes, there are few golden coated plumbing fixtures.  The difference, again, is power - which is as true now as then - and the number of the moderately rich has grown as the middle class has shrunk (the poor has also grown).  There is a political donor class and everyone else - and Bernie Sanders knows that quite well, thank you.