Mercy Medical is a Catholic-affiliated hospital, and the sterilization procedure was approved to be done by Miller’s doctor immediately after her Cesarean Section birth in September 29 at the same hospital.
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Facing a possible sex-discrimination lawsuit, a Catholic hospital in Redding reversed its position Monday and agreed to let a woman’s doctor sterilize her after she gives birth next month.
But her hospital in Redding, owned by Dignity Health in San Francisco, refused to allow her doctor to perform the procedure, saying tubal ligation violates the ethical principles of Catholic health care facilities.
This isn’t the first time the ACLU has targeted Catholic hospitals. “As such, tubal ligations are not performed in Catholic hospitals except on a case-by-case basis where a formal review by a committee of physicians and others gives permission to perform the procedure”.
However, the hospital caved after attorneys with the ACLU threatened to sue if religious grounds were used to deny Miller the care she had requested.
Lauren Davis, representative from Dignity Health’s Mercy Medical Redding, said the decision made in Miller’s case would not affect any of its policies in the future and that the hospital would always operate within the ERDs.
And Miller knows that this issue is bigger than just her. She said that it’s an important issue for the women in the North State who may want to undergo post-partum tubal ligation.
“California law, however, does not permit a hospital supported by public funds to deny Ms. Miller’s medically indicated pregnancy-related care, as doing so constitutes sex discrimination”, Gill wrote.
There is no other hospital within a 70-mile radius that has birthing facilities that are not Catholic-affiliated, Gill said.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, common reproductive health procedures are considered “intrinsically evil”, and “legitimate intentions on the part of the spouses do not justify recourse to morally unacceptable means (for example, direct sterilization or contraception)”. She said that she was happy for Miller, but because the policy is still effective, many women are being denied the care they desire because Catholic bishops are making decisions that medical professionals should be making.
“That’s great that they are willing to do that for some women”, Gill said.
“While we are grateful Mercy Medical Center has agreed to provide medical care in this instance … the reality remains that there is a clear conflict between the best interests of patients and the directives of the Catholic hospital system”, said the ACLU’s Gill in an ACLU press release.
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A growing number of Catholic hospitals are banning sterilization procedures, according to ProPublica in a piece published earlier this year.
