The ACLU’s passion for abortion is matched only by its hatred of Catholicism. When these two enemies—unborn children and the Catholic Church—come together, the ACLU kicks into high gear. This explains its recent lawsuit against Trinity Health: its hospitals refuse to perform abortions. Two years ago, the ACLU filed suit against the bishops’ conference in a similar case; it was dismissed in June.
What accounts for the ACLU’s obstinacy? It’s due to two things: ideology and money. The ideological reasons extend back to its founding: in 1920, it listed all the rights mentioned in the First Amendment save for religious freedom. This was no accident. Roger Baldwin, the founder, was an atheist who grew up in an anti-Catholic home (he told me this in June 1978 when I interviewed him in his home in New York City). Promoting abortion is not only a sincere conviction, it pays handsomely. Just read its hysterical fundraising letters.
Moreover, of the last 20 statements made about the Catholic Church on the ACLU’s website, 16 deal with healthcare issues; the other four address cases involving gays. These days it leaves most of the fights over religious expression to atheist groups and their ilk. By contrast, it concentrates on the big prize—forcing Catholic hospitals to kill kids.
The ACLU is part of MergerWatch, a coalition of organizations dedicated to winning the big prize. It was co-founded by Frances Kissling, formerly of Catholics for Choice, a dummy group funded by the Ford Foundation and other elites; these same foundations grease MergerWatch. Interestingly, MergerWatch is located in the same building that houses Commonweal, the dissident Catholic magazine. Both are clients of the Interchurch Center: on its website it boasts that it is “affiliated primarily with its tenant agencies, many with which it co-sponsors events and programs.”
