Catholic hospital denies procedure, reverses decision after legal threat

A Mercy Medical Center hospital in Redding faced a potential lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union after denying a reproductive procedure to a patient for religious reasons.

The ACLU argued that the hospital unlawfully denied their client, Rachel Miller, her reproductive health care when her request for a post-partum tubal ligation was denied. But a statement from the Redding hospital said the health provider’s Catholic hospitals operate under the Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which prohibit sterilization on men and women.

Tubal ligation is more commonly known as “getting one’s tubes tied.”

Mercy Medical Center in Merced also is a Catholic hospital operating under the same directives and health care provider. It is unclear whether the Merced location performs tubal ligations or how many it might perform. A statement from Dignity Health’s Mercy Medical Center Redding said “tubal ligations are not performed in Catholic hospitals except on a case-by-case basis.”

The ACLU reported Tuesday that after the threat of a lawsuit, Mercy Medical Center in Redding approved the procedure for Miller, reversing the original decision.

“Religious institutions that provide services to the general public should not be allowed to hold religion as an excuse to discriminate or deny important health care,” said Elizabeth Gill, a senior attorney at the ACLU of Northern California, in a statement.

Out of the 39 Dignity Health hospitals in California, 24 are Catholic. Dignity Health’s non-Catholic hospitals abide by the health provider’s statement of common values.

The Catholic directive that prohibits sterilization states: “Direct sterilization of either men or women, whether permanent or temporary, is not permitted in a Catholic health care institution. Procedures that induce sterility are permitted when their direct effect is the cure or alleviation of a present and serious pathology and a simpler treatment is not available.”

Msgr. Robert D. Wenzinger of the Diocese of Fresno said the issue involves the purpose of human sexuality, which Catholics believe is procreation. “Through sterilization, the procreative part is removed from the equation,” he said. “It comes down to question of ‘What is the purpose of human sexuality?’”

Mercy Medical Center in Merced provides other women’s health services, including breast care services, labor and delivery, well woman, and well-baby care.

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Catholic hospital denies procedure, reverses decision after legal threat."