What hospitals won't do for a merger. Deals involving Catholic facilities often mean a loss of reproductive services.

As Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals pursue mergers or partnerships with one another, the facilities are discovering a major culture clash, prompting a new set of operating rules. At the heart of it all are prohibitions the Catholic Church slaps on certain reproductive services, such as tubal ligations, abortions and some fertility programs. Sometimes the hurdles prove insurmountable.