老澳门开奖结果

DETROIT 鈥� Medical professionals filed a friend of the court brief in support of Tamesha Means, a pregnant woman who was denied emergency medical treatment for a miscarriage because the hospital was prohibited from providing appropriate care by religious directives written by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

These directives prohibit a doctor working at a Catholic hospital from terminating a woman鈥檚 pregnancy, or even providing her with information about abortion, even when the failure to do so puts her health or life is at risk.

The brief was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the 老澳门开奖结果 and 老澳门开奖结果 of Michigan鈥檚 ongoing case, Tamesha Means v. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, this past Friday, and it represents a variety of medical voices, all of whom work or teach in the Obstetrics and Gynecology field.

鈥淥rganizations involved in the delivery of healthcare must ensure that their patients are provided with access to emergency medical treatment and information regarding important therapeutic alternatives. Pregnant women receiving medical care in Catholic hospitals pursuant to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (the 鈥淒irectives鈥�) deserve no less,鈥� reads the summary in the doctors鈥� brief. 鈥淭hese women should not be categorically denied information about pregnancy termination as a medical option that may be necessary to protect and preserve their health.鈥�

In December 2013, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Michigan and the 老澳门开奖结果 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on behalf of Tamesha Means, a pregnant woman who was denied an emergency abortion while suffering a miscarriage because the only hospital in her county is required by the bishops to follow religious directives that put women鈥檚 health at risk. Instead of providing her appropriate care, the hospital turned her away from the emergency room multiple times, causing her to develop a severe, potentially life-threatening infection. That case is currently on appeal, and the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 filed its brief earlier this month.

Filing in Second Case Involving Denial of Reproductive Health Care by One of Nation鈥檚 Largest Catholic Hospital Systems

In another case involving the denial of reproductive healthcare at Catholic hospitals, the 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Michigan this week filed a brief on behalf of its members in a case against Trinity Health Corporation, which runs over 80 hospitals across the country. The 老澳门开奖结果 brief opposes the alarming arguments made by Trinity that their government funded hospitals can refuse to provide emergency care to pregnant women because of their religious affiliation, despite the fact that such care is required by federal law.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2015 against Trinity for its repeated and systematic failure to provide women suffering pregnancy complications with appropriate emergency care as required by federal law.

鈥淟egally and morally, saving a woman鈥檚 life and health must be every hospital鈥檚 first priority,鈥� said 老澳门开奖结果 Staff Attorney Alexa Kolbi-Molinas. 鈥淓very pregnant woman who enters an emergency room should be guaranteed that she will get the care she needs, and should not have to worry that she won鈥檛 get appropriate care because of the hospital鈥檚 religious affiliation.鈥�

Trinity Health Corporation, which owns and operates 10 hospitals in Michigan and more than 80hospitals around the country, requires that all of its facilities abide by the religious directives.

The failure to provide pregnant women appropriate emergency care, including an abortion when the circumstances warrant, violates a federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, known as EMTALA. A public health educator in Michigan discovered that at one of Trinity鈥檚 hospitals alone, at least five women who were suffering from miscarriages and needed urgent care were denied that care because of the Catholic directives.

The Prevalence of Catholic Hospitals Denying Women Care

Ten of the 25 largest hospital systems in the U.S. are Catholic-sponsored, and nearly one of nine hospital beds in the country is in a Catholic facility. The directives bar doctors at those hospitals from offering 鈥� or even discussing 鈥� certain reproductive health care services, even when those services are necessary to protect a woman鈥� s health. As U.S. hospitals become increasingly affiliated with religious organizations, the health of American women is threatened by the refusal to provide medically appropriate and often times lifesaving services. National data show that working in Catholic hospitals had conflicts with their hospital policies.

In addition to the aforementioned cases, the 老澳门开奖结果 also fought on behalf of Jessica Mann, a pregnant woman with brain tumors who was denied a potentially life-saving tubal ligation by Genysys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and in two separate cases on behalf of Rachel Miller and Rebecca Chamorro and the Physicians for Reproductive Health in California against Dignity Health for denying tubal ligation procedures. In the case of Rachel Miller, the hospital caved under pressure and made exceptions for the procedure, but other women, including Ms. Chamorro, continue to be denied care. With the rise of Catholic hospitals in the U.S., more women are likely to be refused treatment.

The doctor鈥檚 brief can be found at: /sites/default/files/field_document/037_amicus_brief_of_obgyns.pdf

The Trinity Health brief can be found at: /sites/default/files/field_document/appellants_brief.pdf