A California judge recently ruled in favor of a Catholic hospital that refused to sterilize a woman.
Rebecca Chamorro requested that the Mercy Medical Center perform a 'post-partum tubal ligation.â? After the Catholic institution denied to perform the elective procedure, she sued them with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.
A judge ruled against Chamorro and the ACLU's emergency request earlier this month. He just recently made his earlier ruling permanent.
Judge Ernest Goldsmith explained, 'Thereâ??s no law that says that hospitals are mandated to perform sterilizations.â? He added that forcing them to do so would violate their religious beliefs.
It's a small victory for religious freedom advocates in the United States. The greater fear is that Catholic hospitals will eventually be forced to perform abortions.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Joseph Kurtz recently vowed that 'we will continue to reach out to the White House and Congressional leaders untiringly until proper protections are guaranteed.â?
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