Catholic hospital refuses tubal ligation to woman with brain tumor

(Guardian, Oct. 14, 2015): Catholic hospital denies Michigan woman treatment on religious grounds, by Ryan Felton:

Weeks after learning she would give birth to her third child, Jessica Mann was faced with a difficult decision: because she was stricken by a life-threatening brain tumor, her doctor recommended she have her fallopian tubes tied at the time of her scheduled cesarean section delivery, later this month.

Mann agreed to undergo the procedure at her hospital to prevent the risk of a future pregnancy exacerbating her tumor. But the hospital, Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc, Michigan, declined on religious grounds.

The ACLU has filed a complaint with the Michigan department of licensing and regulatory affairs on Mann's behalf.  Ethical and Religious Directives developed by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops prohibit facilites from performing tubal ligations.  The Directives govern Catholic-sponsored hospitals in the U.S., and according to the ACLU and Mergerwatch as of 2011, one in 10 acute-care hospitals are Catholic sponsored or affiliated.  ACLU attorney Brook Tucker state, "As Catholic hospitals become the sole option for more people, as they've merged with secular entities . . . they become more empowered to impose their will on the public because there is no other recourse."