What are the Ethical & Religious Directives (ERDs)?
According to Healthlaw.org, The Ethical & Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) are directives promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to govern Catholic health facilities. The ERDs present “a theological basis for the Catholic health care ministry,” governing the way health care is delivered in Catholic health facilities and systems, including hospitals, clinics, and managed care organizations.
Today, services are more at risk than ever. At the 2025 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the group voted to ban Gender Affirming Care at Catholic Hospitals.
How do Catholic hospitals apply ERDs?
It depends. Some are quite literal, while others are less restrictive. A variety of factors drive the variations: the decisions of local Bishops with authority over the hospitals, disagreement among theologians about the proper interpretation of the ERDs, market forces, & sometimes simply by quietly performing prohibited services on a case-by-case basis.
📢In 2018, ERD updates were made specifically for mergers involving Catholic and secular hospitals—aimed at extending religious doctrine.
When religious and moral teachings take the place of medical expertise and standards of care, patients and families pay the price. Will you know when your health care is being dictated by religious doctrine vs. sound medical advice?
SCHA, our community partners, and state officials must keep these provisions front & center when reviewing mergers and transactions involving Catholic health care systems to ensure protections are in place for continued access to necessary health care services. This includes reproductive and sexual health care.