Catholic Church Slows St. Vincent’s Successor

Objections from the Catholic Church over condoms and other birth control measures are delaying the opening of an urgent care clinic proposed for Greenwich Village four months after the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City.

According to the New York Daily News, the North Shore/Long Island Jewish Medical Center received a $9 million grant from the state to open a clinic in the former St. Vincent’s emergency room, but objections to birth control counseling are impeding the opening.

“Terry Lynam, a spokesman for North Shore/LIJ, would not confirm that birth control was the holdup, but said, ‘The terms presented to us pose some significant problems.’”

St. Vincent’s closed in April, leaving the neighborhood, which has a sizable LGBT population, without emergency care and other services. The Catholic hospital was known for its expertise in HIV/AIDS, the result of its location at the epicenter of the epidemic in the early 1980s.

A lawsuit filed in state supreme court last week alleges that gross financial mismanagement led to the closure of the 160-year-old hospital, which cited $1 billion in debt when it filed for bankruptcy before closing.