Let’s first start off by saying that making medical decisions for ourselves and our children, discerning what is best for our families can be extremely difficult. Many of the choices we may find ourselves faced with over the years may have lasting repercussions, and we need to weigh the costs and benefits of those decisions.

For instance, not too long ago, after some roughhousing with her older brother, my youngest wound up with a mild concussion. Within twelve hours of the event, she was vomiting, which continued on and off until late that night when we decided to take her to the emergency room. While the doctor didn’t believe anything serious was going on, something worse could not be ruled out unless we had my little one get a CAT scan, which he said as he handed me a sheet of paper filled with scary facts about CAT scan radiation and the probability of childhood cancer. YIKES!

Ultimately, after being allowed to stay for an hour – mostly spent in prayer – we decided to not opt for the CAT scan, and I am happy to report that another child began throwing up the following morning. I’ve never been so happy to see a stomach bug, and I’ve never been so glad that we wouldn’t pressured into making a big medical decision that could have a lasting impact on the life of my three year old child.

Now…let’s add on top of the everyday concerns, our current political and cultural climate and bring in masks and new vaccinations and we’re in a whole new territory – a territory that is scary and uncomfortable and is very politically charged. This is really tough stuff, especially when the way we relate to one another, what we are/are not allowed to do, etc. are being decided in places depending on our medical choices.

To help understand exactly what medical freedoms are, Catholic wife/mom/artist/advocate, Carolyn Svellinger joined me on a recent episode of The Catholic Mama podcast to discuss medical freedom – what it is and why we absolutely need to protect it for each person – and how there are awful breaches in medical freedom happening right now.

Please do not misconstrue this episode as an attack on anyone’s medical decisions. The main point here is that we need to protect medical freedom for all people, and no one should feel coerced into making medical decisions that are not right for themselves or their families. We can all agree that protecting freedom is a good thing, right? I sure hope so!

Download the episode below or listen to it on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or anywhere you normally access podcasts. The Catholic Mama is there!

Also be sure and connect with Carolyn – where she posts on all things faith, big family, life with boys, and medical freedoms on Instagram @carolyn_svellerella and her artist page @brass_and_mint_co.

Other Episodes of The Catholic Mama Podcast You Might Enjoy

EP 185: Giving St. John of the Cross a Seat at the Dinner Table with Fr. Ignatius

EP 184: The Apostolate of Holy Motherhood with Emily Fossier

EP 174: A Catholic Response to Current Events with Katherine Ocello

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