St. Joseph considers merger with non-Catholic hospital system

Financially troubled St. Joseph Medical Centermay soon become part of a hospital system that does not follow its strict Catholic beliefs on abortion and reproductive rights. The Towson hospital's owner, Catholic Health Initiatives, put it up for sale after a surgical scandal threatened its business and besmirched its reputation. Two of its three remaining suitors are not Catholic institutions, which typically follow a religious doctrine that includes morning prayer and the prohibition of many women's services, such as abortion, sterilization, tubal ligations and in-vitro fertilization.