Tubal Ligation at Issue in Lawsuit

Daily Beast (Jan. 20, 2016): Catholic Hospitals Are Blocking a Basic Form of Contraception, by Brandy Zadrozny:

Many women choose to have their tubes tied as a pregnancy preventative.  Married women may choose this method of sterilization when they have finished growing their families.  They sometimes desire to have this procedure performed at the same time they are in surgery for  a Caesarean section. 

But the belief that tubal ligation is intrinsically evil is a stance assumed by Catholic hospitals in many regions without alternative sources of medical care.  A lawsuit brought by Physicians for Reproductive Health (PHR) against what may be the largest hospital provider in California charges violates of the state's anti-discrimination, business and health and safety laws.  PHR is arguing that the religious refusal places an undue burden on women who have to travel to facilities often far away from where their physician practices or who are forced to submit to two separate surgeries.  The group objects to the intrusion of Catholic doctrine in the doctor-patient relationship. 

According to the ACLU and MergerWatch, the number of Catholic acute-care hospitals in the United States continues to rise.