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Loading ...Calif. Supreme Court: Doctors cannot refuse IVF to lesbians
08.18.2008 2:37pm EDT
(San Francisco, California) In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday that doctors cannot withhold care to gays and lesbians based on their religious beliefs.
The case began in 2001 when Guadalupe Benitez filed suit against Drs. Christine Brody and Douglas Fenton after they refused to artificially inseminate her, claiming to do so would violate their religious beliefs.
A lower court ruled that the doctors could not use religion as a defense, but in 2005 a state appeals court struck down the ruling ,saying that the doctors were within their rights because they based their decision on Benitez’s unmarried status and that discrimination based on marital status is not prohibited by state law.
Represented by Lambda Legal Benitez appealed to the California Supreme Court.
Benitez alleges that after she had received 11 months of preparatory treatment from the North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group clinic in San Diego, and at “the critical and brief moment when Benitez needed to be inseminated,” Brody and Fenton refused to inseminate her.
Both Brody and Fenton said that because of their personal religious beliefs about gay people, they would not administer the treatment Benitez had been promised. In court papers the doctors also said they object to treating unmarried heterosexual women and they claim that their fundamentalist Christian beliefs exempt them from California’s civil rights laws.
The doctors contended they denied treatment because Benitez and her registered domestic partner of 15 years were not married. Lambda legal maintained she was denied because of her sexual orientation, not her marital status.
When the appeal was filed with the Supreme Court, Lambda argued that marital status was being used as a smokescreen.
“Doctors with antigay religious beliefs are not excused from obeying the laws that govern all of us,” said Lambda legal attorney Jennifer C. Pizer at the time. “That our client’s doctors felt that they could defy well-established California law and medical ethics is very worrisome for all of us in a civil society.”
There is an inherent problem with the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The founders knew that, and they originally left the 10 bills out on purpose so they could get a government for the US first, and then let the people make some decisions that originally threatened the approval of the Constitution to begin with. The 10 bills were diametrically opposed to slavery, but it was ignored so they would get approved, again letting the issue be handled later. That is a real problem with the freedom situation in the US. The order of the amendments is of importance as well. Notice the first amendment contains all of religion, speech, assembly and ability to address grievances of the government. These topics were put on an equal footing in one amendment rather than four, although religion is mentioned first. However, the US cannot favor one religion over another or to stop people from practicing their religion. The issue here is about PRACTICING their religion; in no way does it imply they can force their views on another. If they do not like the terms of their job, they can quit and do something else to “pursue their happiness” and “practice their religion”. However, there is a bigger issue at hand, and that is the right to life. These kind Lesbian ladies chose to pursue having children, and the religious bigots, pretending to be doctors, used their prejudice to force their “right to choose” on a lady who wanted to have children and remove her ability to “pursue her happiness”. Frankly, the supposedly religious people were upset because they knew they would not have the ability to brainwash the children of the Lesbian couple, and that is the real crux of the problem. Religious people want complete control of everyone, INCLUDING YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR MONEY. And they will lie and cheat and change their own beliefs to have their way. As you can see, these supposed doctors are hypocrites of the worst degree. I have yet to meet any religious person who is not a hypocrite, and that makes them liars, and I think a liar is the lowest of the low; they are lower than the snake’s belly. I am so pleased with the CSC right now; they have boiled away all the issues to get to the final issue at hand. Doctors (and anyone) serving the public must serve all the public without prejudice and force. Religion belongs at home, never at work! If you want a job practicing religion, become a missionary or work in your church, not with the public. I too had a doctor try to push his agenda on me and my family once; he became a quack and made a host of mistakes on purpose to try to harm us. I changed to a different doctor immediately. I am not stupid, and he lost my business, and I tell everyone he is a quack and the mess he made. I hope he goes out of business and if he hurts someone, then he and his staff can go to prison for life.
Ken said “I hate to break this to you Censoredagain but many of those Christian Fundamentalists would like nothing more to make this a 100% Christian nation governed by them and their interpretation of the bible.”
Unfortunately I already know this but Christian Dominionism was not part of my argument. Christian Dominionism is not in accord with freedom so I would never support it nor any other anti freedom political structure. The point of Christian Dominionism was not included in my argument because I stated all individuals and private entities should have the right to discriminate on what ever reason their hearts desire. No where in my argument did I say the government has a right to discriminate. Because the Government dose not have a right to discriminate. What the government does for one it must do for all. What the government doesn’t do for one it must not do for all. The government should be held to a higher standards then an individual.
So your point about Christian Dominionism is a complete red socialist herring. I do not support any form of theocracy because theocracy does not support freedom; I only support freedom which is why I don’t support Obama or McCain. Because neither support freedom. The only difference between the two is which aspects of an individual’s life they want to control. Control is not freedom.
Censoredagain, I’m not sure what it’s going to take with some people. The entire argument hinges on Freedom. People are so willing to give up their own freedoms and to support taking that of others. I’m not certain how it reached this point. I hope that we can reach a point that we stand for the freedom of all rather than the freedom of those that we agree with.
While I agree with censored to an extent, if doctors are allowed the freedom to treat whomever they wish, they should be required to post their exceptions to treatment where all will know beforehand. Having a doctorate and a professional license doesn’t auntomatically make them a good person and the potential for abuse and mistreatment for someone to whom they are idealeogically opposed opens the door to great potential harm to those caught unaware. I wouldnt trust a fundamentalist doctor to treat me even under the existing laws. You never know just how dedicated those people are to their Hypocritical Oath.
Quasi Your are in error in your judgment by putting the lesbians right to create a family over the right of the Doctors to practice their religion. First and foremost you must remember that the Doctors are not working for the state; they are not working for anyone else but themselves. There office is a private office which they the doctors own. So by the state telling the doctors who they must server is tantamount to slavery. Your position would be correct if the fertility clinic was publicly owned. You would also be correct in your point that the doctors in question could seek employment elsewhere if the clinic in which they worked was privately owned by another who ordered the doctors to perform the procedure because it is part of their job description and they would have an obligation to perform said procedure. But this is not the case.
The case is the doctors in question own and operate their private business so they should have the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason unless they had a contractual obligation. In this case I support the CSC decision because the doctors treated the lesbian in the past to prep her for the procedure for which they later denied her. Now the reason I side with the plaintiff in this case is because of the previous treatment created the expectation or a de facto contractual obligation that the doctors would complete the procedures. It is more of a contractual agreement issue rather then a discrimination issue. However, If the doctors did not treat the plaintiff in the past then I would side with the defendants for reasons stated above and in previous posts.
I agree that discrimination (as used here) is bad but it is not the state’s place to force private individuals and entities to associate with those in which they choose not to associate; to do so is to usurp Freedom from the people. I sir will choose freedom you have the right to choose enslavement just don’t include me in your bondage.
Censoredagain said:
“which is why I don’t support Obama or McCain. Because neither support freedom. The only difference between the two is which aspects of an individual’s life they want to control. Control is not freedom.”
This is one instance you and I are in agreement. I do not like either candidate myself.
These bigoted doctors and just being faithful to their Hypocritical Oath.
Apparently these doctors are merely upholding their Hypocritical Oath.
Hmmmm I thought Doctors own ethical opinions was against regulations?? The funny thing is they allow people who should not be parents to breed like wildfire and live off the expense of the tax-payer, Priorities are all wrong don’t you think??
Trace, Freedom is a very scary thing and it is only for the brave of heart. People are so willing to give up their freedom for the sake of security. But we know what ol’ Ben had to say about that. The man that chooses temporary security of liberty deserves neither; actually that is a paraphrase and not a quote.
Americans have been indoctrinated in socialism even before FDR. Socialism has become such a religion in this country. How many religious converts do you know?
Americans have developed what those in the psychology field call “learned helplessness” and the helplessness is supported by the government. It makes the masses that much easier to control
unreadable tiny print on this aritcle not corrected.
I call upon 365 gay.com to not use that small hard to read text size again.
TigerTzu Said:
These bigoted doctors and just being faithful to their Hypocritical Oath.
I agree but I will always support their right to do so! I don’t like what they are doing but if I ask the government to force the doctors to comply with my belief system then what is keeping the government from forcing me to comply with someone else’s belief system?
Choose Freedom
People have twisted religion to the extent it has become a joke at best and a threat to society at worst. It’s high time religion was erased altogether. Believe in what you like but leave it at home please when you go out.
There is a definite lag between the time posted and when it shows up, if at all. In my original post I agreed with you censored, but I also stated that doctors who refuse to treat everyone equally should be required to post their exceptions so that people can make informed choices about those doctors and their care. If a doctor is also a religious nutcase, he might intentionally mistreat someone that he/she has a personal or religious bias against, causing further injury or death. Sure they can be sued for malpractice after the fact, but that is little comfort to the dead.
P.S. this lag is also responsible for my other duplicate postings.
For Censoredagain: August 18th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
”
Quasi Your are in error in your judgment by putting the lesbians right to create a family over the right of the Doctors to practice their religion….”
You are wrong of course. ZIf a doctor wants to put his religious beliefs over the health of the nation, then he should turn in his Med degree and become a priest or preacher.
Our LGBT lives are real. Their beliefs are manufactured delusions.