CA SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST RELIGIOUS LIBERTY – AGAIN!

In August, the California Supreme Court outrageously held that the right to exercise your faith in the workplace is not a defense to a discrimination claim based on sexual orientation.   The Court’s holding asserts that a Christian physician does not have a constitutional right to refuse to perform an elective medical procedure on religious grounds. 

This lawsuit was brought in December 2001 by an unmarried woman who claims that the physicians discriminated against her when they referred her to another physician for an IUI (in uterine insemination) on the basis of her sexual orientation.  An IUI is an invasive medical procedure which is intended to result in artificial insemination.  The woman who brought the lawsuit asserts that she has a right not to be discriminated against because she is a lesbian and that the physicians should have no right to assert a defense based on religious liberty at trial.  The physicians, however, have a personal religious objection to inseminating unmarried women.   

Advocates’ attorneys and allied counsel filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to rehear the case in light of the significant negative impact the ruling will have on religious liberty rights in California.  This afternoon, the Court denied the petition to rehear the case.  Please pray for our litigation team and the clients as we evaluate our continuing legal strategy, including a potential appeal to the United States Supreme Court.