North Coast Women's Care Medical Group, Inc v. Benitez - medical care case for California
In the California case of North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group, Inc v. Benitez, the Supreme Court of California is set to decide whether or not a clinic, or physician, can successfully use a defense of religion when deciding not to treat a patient based on their marital status or sexual orientation. The patient, in this case, is alleging that North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group, and their physicians, refused to provide her with fertility treatments because of her sexual orientation. However, North Coast defends that their refusal of treatment was based on the free exercise of their religious ideals and their supposed right to refuse treatment on the ground of marital status.
According to California law, the rule exists that a doctor may refuse to perform certain medical procedures in accordance with their religious beliefs at large; however, they may not discriminate on a patient by patient basis in determining whether to not perform certain medical procedures while using religion as a defense.
Under California law, at the time the complaint was brought, the patient was not considered to be legally married to her partner. Yet, under the Unruh Act, it is unconstitutional to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, which now also applies to discrimination based on marital status. After almost 8 years, the case has finally reached the Supreme Court of California on the heels of the decision to legalize gay marriage in California. As for now, the court has issued a writ of mandate directing the trial court to vacate its order granting summary judgment on the physicians' religion-based defense and to enter an order denying the motion for summary judgment as to the physicians. This could be a very controversial and possibly a society changing decision. The Supreme Court of California currently has 90 days to come to a decision the issue. www.ericksonlaw.net
