California judge: Catholic hospital can't be forced to do sterilizations

A California judge declined Thursday to force a Catholic hospital to facilitate a sterilization procedure for a woman who’s having a scheduled C-section at the facility later this month.

Rebecca Chamorro’s doctors had requested permission to do the tubal ligation immediately after delivering her baby, which is the safest and most convenient time to do the procedure. But Mercy Medical Center’s administrators refused, saying the sterilization violated the hospital’s Catholic beliefs.

The America Civil Liberties Union sued on Chamorro’s behalf, claiming sex discrimination. It hoped the judge would issue a preliminary injunction, forcing the hospital to allow the procedure while litigation over the issue continues.

But Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith said Chamorro could have the procedure done elsewhere and noted the hospital’s policy was not based on Chamorro’s gender, since it also refuses to allow sterilizations for male patients.

“Religious-based hospitals have an enshrined place in American history and its communities, and the religious beliefs reflected in their operation are not to be interfered with by courts at this moment in history,” Goldsmith said.

Although Chamorro lost her bid to have the tubal ligation at Mercy Medical, her lawsuit will continue.

“We disagree with the court about what California law requires,” said Elizabeth Gill, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing Chamorro. “This is a real issue about women’s health.”

The attack on the Catholic hospital is part of a nationwide attempt to force mandatory acceptance of abortifacient and contraceptive drugs and procedures. The Obama administration started the trend by requiring all health plans to cover them. Last year, closely held corporations with owners who object to the coverage won an exemption from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case. Religious non-profits will make their case before the high court later this year.

The California hospital is not the only one in the ACLU’s sights. It’s also filed a complaint with a state agency against a Catholic hospital in Michigan that refuses to allow tubal ligations in its operating rooms.

Dignity Health, which operates Mercy Medical, also owns 38 other hospitals in California, Nevada, and Arizona. Attorney Barry Landsberg admitted the hospital has allowed tubal ligations in the past, but only on a case-by-case basis in situations that didn’t violate its religious tenets.

“There’s no law … that would support this kind of intrusion on a Catholic hospital’s observance of ethical and religious directives,” Landsberg said during Thursday’s court hearing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.