Though I’m not Catholic, I’ve heard some horror stories about nuns from my friends that made me even happier that I was excluded from that particularly joyful religious experience. From nuns to priests to many roles in between, I’ve heard about so many stories of abuse—sexual, physical, and emotional—that I won’t allow my kid to step foot into a church without me by her side—and that’s for weddings only (and perhaps tours of old cathedrals when we travel… maybe). (Having been sexually, physically, and emotionally abused both in a private Baptist church-run daycare center and in public school myself, I do understand that it can happen anywhere; the church isn’t alone in its cruel practice of preying upon children.)

But nuns… Wow. I don’t know if Sister Act spawned a new movement or they’re just catching up to the new times, but nuns across the country—even the world, perhaps—are really taking a stand. We first heard about how so many nuns were in favor of the healthcare bill even when it included abortion access (before it was stripped), much to the dismay of the male Catholic elders/ priests/ pale jewel-wearing relics/ Skeksis from The Dark Crystal. What a revolutionary act for these women—whom I hear are quite selfless and kind for the most part—to take! In supporting healthcare for more people, they were willing to go against the church’s position on abortion.

Now, a nun has been excommunicated from the church entirely for approving an abortion for a patient. The procedure happened in 1999, and it was used to save the life of a dying woman. Sister Margaret McBride was working at the St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center of Phoenix, Arizona (yes, another awful story coming from the state; is it just me, or is “Arizona” becoming synonymous with “bullsh**” these days?) at the time. A member of the hospital ethics committee, she approved an abortion for a woman with pulmonary hypertension, a condition which threatened the woman’s’ life while pregnant.  

The leader of the archdiocese in Phoenix, Bishop Thomas J. Olmstead, said the nun was excommunicated immediately. Upon hearing that the hospital stated that the abortion was necessary to save the woman’s life, the bishop said this amazingly brilliant (note my irony) statement of his own: “An unborn child is not a disease. While medical professionals should certainly try to save a pregnant mother’s life, the means by which they do it can never be by directly killing her unborn child. The end does not justify the means.”

Incredible. The Bishop, like many other Catholics, would rather have a woman die than allow her to have an abortion. This just further exemplifies how little the church thinks of women. The fetus—in this case 11 weeks in development—would not have been able to survive outside the woman’s body anyway, but the church did not give a damn about that. A fetus is more important than a woman’s life.

Sister McBride, wherever you are, I am so sorry that you lost your position. You were certainly using it to help people. I am very, very grateful, however, that you did use your position to save this woman’s life—and I’m sure she is, too.