Catholic hospital says it was 'morally wrong' to argue fetus is not a person

A Catholic hospital in hot water for claiming in a Colorado court that a fetus is not a person backtracked on Monday, saying it was "morally wrong" to make the argument while defending itself in a wrongful death lawsuit.

The flip-flop concerns the case of Lori Stodghill. She was 28 weeks pregnant with twins when she went to the emergency room of St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, Colorado, vomiting and short of breath.

She went into cardiac arrest in the lobby and died. That was New Year's Day 2006.

Her husband, Jeremy Stodghill, sued the hospital and its owner, Catholic Health Initiatives, for the wrongful deaths of his wife and their unborn sons.Given the Catholic Church's belief that life begins at conception, defense attorneys for the hospital and doctors then entered an unusual argument.They said that under state law, an embryo is not person until it is born alive.

The claim attracted widespread attention and criticism, which apparently forced the about-face.

"In the discussion with the Church leaders, CHI representatives acknowledged that it was morally wrong for attorneys representing St. Thomas More Hospital to cite the state's Wrongful Death Act in defense of this lawsuit. That law does not consider fetuses to be persons, which directly contradicts the moral teachings of the Church," Catholic Health Initiatives said in a statement.

It promised that attorneys for the hospital would not cite the Wrongful Death Act in any future hearings.

Stodghill has petitioned the Colorado Supreme Court to hear his case.

The state's bishops similarly released a statement, expressing support for CHI and for the Stodghill family.

"We join CHI in affirming the fundamental truth that human life, human dignity and human rights begin at conception. No law can ever mitigate God-given human rights," they said. "Each human life is a sacred gift, created as a unique and unrepeatable expression of God's love. Life is given by God, and the right to life is a fundamental good, without which no other rights can be enjoyed."

Colorado movie theater set to reopen

Colorado movie theater where massacre occurred set to reopen

The Aurora, Colorado, movie theater where 12 people were killed in a shooting rampage at a Batman film last July was set to reopen on Thursday evening with a private "night of remembrance" for survivors and others connected to the tragedy.

The owners of the theater, Cinemark USA, offered victims or their relatives free passes to a movie later on Thursday after the event and invited them to view the revamped theater where the massacre occurred.
But in a letter to Cinemark, families of nine murder victims took umbrage at the offer to tour "the very theater where our loved ones lay dead on the floor for over 15 hours."

"We would give anything to wipe the carnage of that night out of our minds' eye," the letter said. "Thank you for reminding us how your quest for profits has blinded your leadership and made you so callous as to be oblivious to our mental anguish."

A spokeswoman for Cinemark declined to comment.
Some victims' relatives have said they will attend the event, among them Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex was killed in the massacre.

"If you truly knew my son Alex, you would know that he would want me to be there, if only to show that we will not allow anyone to take the joy we shared at theaters ... away from us," Sullivan wrote in an opinion piece published by the Denver Post.

After Thursday night's event, the theater will offer free movie passes to the public from Friday through Sunday. The theater will then close and reopen for good on January 25

The 16-theater multiplex has been closed since July 20, when a gunman opened fire on moviegoers during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 and wounding dozens of others. Former graduate student James Holmes is charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Cinemark President Tim Warner are slated to speak at Thursday's event.

Hogan issued a video statement about the reopening, calling it "part of a healing process" for the city of 325,000. He said three-quarters of Aurora citizens who responded to an online survey conducted by the city requesting input on the future of the site said they wanted the theater to reopen.

Cinemark is the third-largest movie exhibitor in the United States, according to a company profile.
The Texas-based theater chain reported a 1 percent year-over-year dip in revenue to $636.6 million in the third quarter of 2012, the time frame when the shooting occurred.

Cinemark has refrained from commenting publicly about the massacre. Some victims have sued the chain over the rampage, charging that the theater should have had more security because it was aware of previous crimes in or near the multiplex.

In a court filing seeking dismissal of the lawsuits, Cinemark denied it was aware of other crimes at the theater, but even if true, "such an event would be insufficient to make a madman's mass murder foreseeable."