This will be interesting to follow...can a physician based on their religious belief refuse service...in a non emergency situation...did the physicians withhold services due to the fact that she is gay? The CMA changed their original position on the issue after a little heat...BD
Do religious beliefs give doctors the right to withhold medical treatment from lesbians and gay men?
That's the question the California Supreme Court is scheduled to take up this week in a discrimination lawsuit brought by a lesbian who was denied artificial insemination at the only local obstetrics and gynecology office covered by her insurance. Guadalupe Benitez, of Oceanside, alleges that after treating her with fertility drugs for nearly a year the staff of the private North Coast Women's Care Medical Group refused to inseminate her eight years ago because of her sexual orientation.
The California Medical Association initially sided with the doctors as well, but reversed its position after coming under fire from gay rights groups. The association ended up joining an amicus brief submitted by health care provider Kaiser Foundation Health Plan. The American Civil Liberties Union, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, the National Health Law Program and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association also filed papers backing Benitez.
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