Monday, December 05, 2005

Court: Okay to Deny Insemintion to Lesbian

(Link) A California apellate court has decided that two doctors who denied IVF treatment to a lesbian client were within their rights to do so -- because Guadalupe Benitez and her partner of 15 years are not legally married.

1 comment:

LNewsEditor said...

JIC Post:
From Associated Press

SAN DIEGO -- A state appellate court ruled that two fertility doctors had the right to refuse to artificially inseminate a lesbian on the grounds that it would have violated their religious beliefs.

The 4th District Court of Appeals ruling Friday reversed a lower court decision that had said Dr. Christine Brody and Dr. Douglas Fenton could not use religion as a defense against a lawsuit filed by Guadalupe Benitez.

The panel found 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 California law.

Benitez's lawyers said she was denied because of her sexual orientation and that she has been with her registered domestic partner for 15 years. An attorney for a gay rights group said the decision would be appealed to the California Supreme Court.