United States Catholic bishops have issued guidelines that seek to stop Catholic hospitals from providing gender transition care, a move LGBTQ advocates say could harm the physical and emotional health of transgender people within the church.<\/p>\n

The 14-page doctrinal note, titled \u201cMoral Limits to the Technological Manipulation of the Human Body,\u201d sets forth guidelines for changing a person\u2019s sex, specifically with youth. The document, issued Monday, says Catholic hospitals \u201cmust not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, or take part in the development of such procedures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transgender Catholics have received a mixed response across the U.S. church. Some have found acceptance in specific parishes and rejection in certain dioceses, including those that bar church personnel from using trans people\u2019s preferred gender pronouns. The bishops\u2019 latest guidance to Catholic medical centers could prevent trans people from getting the health care they need, said Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for greater LGBTQ acceptance in the church.<\/p>\n

Catholic hospitals make up a sizeable portion of the U.S. healthcare system, and in some communities, they are the only option.<\/a> The Catholic Health Association, which comprises more than 600 hospitals and 1,400 long-term care and other health facilities in the United States, says more than one in seven U.S. hospital patients is cared for in a Catholic facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese decisions are being made at a much higher level without knowing the individuals and individual cases involved,\u201d DeBernardo said. \u201cWhen transgender people are not permitted or restricted from transitioning in ways they feel are appropriate, it could end in depression, anxiety or even self-harm, including suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bishops\u2019 guidelines \u201cwill not change much\u201d when it comes to caring for transgender patients at Catholic hospitals, said the Rev. Charlie Bouchard, CHA\u2019s senior director of theology and sponsorship. Transgender people will continue to always be accepted in Catholic hospitals and treated with dignity and respect, but might not receive all of the gender-affirming care they request because of the church’s theological and moral teachings, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we look at the document from the bishops, what we are mindful of is that we have a history of caring for the marginalized, and we see transgender people very much as a marginalized group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Catholic hospitals see transgender patients with a variety of health care needs from broken bones to cancer treatment and heart attacks, Bouchard said, adding that the hospitals would not perform cosmetic procedures such as reconstructive surgeries, hysterectomies, or treatments such as sterilizations on request, unless there is a medical need for them.<\/p>\n

He said Catholic hospitals are also training staff to be respectful of transgender patients: \u201cWhen a patient checks in, we ask staff to be respectful in how they ask questions. We want to affirm transgender individuals as persons and provide them with spiritual care and psychological counseling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bouchard said Catholic hospitals will \u201cbase health care on science and continue to follow the science when it comes to transgender people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we don\u2019t treat ideology,\u201d he said. \u201cWe treat patients who are really suffering. There are things out there about gender fluidity that we do not agree with. But as Catholic hospitals, we are held to the same standard of care as other hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeBernardo disagreed, saying the bishops\u2019 doctrinal guidelines cause harm rather than heal people by not paying heed to science.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bishops\u2019 unwillingness to counter any of the evidence from the scientific community or the experience of transgender people is neither good theology nor acceptable pastoral care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n