Can a faithful Catholic become an obstetrician?

[RachelS]

I am blessed with a daughter who feels she has a calling to bring children into the world as an OB-GYN. However, we have spoken about the conflict of OB doctors as far as how patients demand birth control, tubals, in-vitro, etc., which is against our faith. How could one practice in this line of work in this day of age and not go against our faith because of the demands of their patients? Are there Catholic hospitals that she could solely practice at successfully? Or would it be best for her to pray for another calling?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

God bless your daughter for desiring to take on one of the most difficult jobs a faithful Catholic can practice in today’s hostile world. For more information on how to practice in this field successfully, I recommend she contact the Catholic Medical Association and the Pope Paul VI Institute. One More Soul may also have helpful information.

As a side note, if your daughter is primarily interested in assisting women in delivering their children, she may want to look into the possibility of becoming a nurse-midwife. Although there likely are difficulties that faithful Catholics must face in any vocation related to women’s reproductive health, midwifery may be a way to fulfill her dream of delivering babies while, for the most part, avoiding some of the problems obstetrician-gynecologists face.