Catholic hospital under fire for denying sterilizations
(AP) — A Northern California Catholic hospital is under fire again for refusing to allow doctors to perform sterilizations on two pregnant women after they give birth, citing religious reasons.
Mercy Medical, which is owned by Dignity Health, says its general policy is not to provide sterilization unless necessary for the "cure or alleviation of a present and serious pathology."
The American Civil Liberties Union and the nationwide Physicians for Reproductive Health say California law doesn't allow theology to trump patient health.
Ruth Dawson, a staff attorney with the ACLU, told the Associated Press that Chamorro and her doctor decided that tubal ligation would be the best birth control option for Chamorro and her husband.