Catholic Hospital Allowed To Deny Sterilization Surgery

It's the time of secular freedom where everyone has the right to do whatever they want with their bodies; but this time, it's a win for the church.

33 year old mother-of-two, Rebecca Chamorro, sued a California Catholic hospital hospital last year after the hospital turned down her request for sterilization with a letter saying the operation violated the “ethical and religious directives” that govern Catholic hospitals.

However, in a tentative ruling on Wednesday, a San Francisco judge allowed the hospital, Mercy Medical, to deny Chamorro's request for the sterilization procedure known as tubal ligation.

Chamorro had planned to get the procedure done immediately following her scheduled caesarean section on Jan. 28 because she and her husband did not want more children.

Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith said in his decision that Rebecca Chamorro could get the procedure at another hospital, and that Mercy Medical Center's policy against sterilization on religious ground also applies to men.

The lawsuit by Chamorro is part of a growing list of lawsuits against Catholic hospitals by displeased patients who say the hospital's policy is discriminatory and detrimental to the health of patients.

Somehow, I see this sterilization case going to the Supreme court and as usual, I doubt the church will win; but let's see how it goes.