Religion Can't Excuse Doctors Who Denied Treatment to Lesbian, Says ACLU Amicus

Upon learning that she was a lesbian, the doctors of Guadalupe Benitez refused to give her treatment for infertility, saying their religious beliefs prevented them from giving her access to a service they regularly provided to other patients. Benitez sued for discrimination (Benitez v. North Coast Medical Group).

In support of Benitez, the ACLU affiliates of Northern California and San Diego and Imperial Counties, and the organization’s Reproductive Freedom and LGBT and AIDS Projects filed an amicus brief on April 2 with the California Supreme Court, arguing that religious freedom cannot be used to  justify discrimination.

The North Coast Medical Group argues that its doctors’ religious beliefs exempted them from the state’s civil rights law, which forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation.  The ACLU amicus counters that  while religious freedom is indeed a constitutionally protected right that can be burdened only by laws that serve a compelling state interest, California does have a  compelling interest  in outlawing  discrimination in medical care against gay and lesbian patients. 

While doctors may in some circumstances refuse to provide certain kinds of health care services, they may not simply refuse to provide care to some patients because of their race, gender or sexual orientation. North Coast Medical’s discriminatory denial of treatment for Benitez, based on the doctors’ view that lesbians should not bear children, was particularly disturbing because it injured a protected right—procreation—and harkened back to the dark days of sterilization abuse in California, the amicus further argued.

LEGAL DOCUMENTS
Amicus Brief