Because she would have to go 160 miles away to deliver her baby and undergo post-partum sterilization, Rachel Miller asked the ACLU to intervene as a sex discrimination issue since Mercy Medical Center in Redding, her home town, denied her request. The hospital has now changed its mind.
Before the ACLU got involved, the hospital insisted that their ERD (Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Services, which provides the standards and guidance for Catholic health care providers) be followed.
According to the ERD
document, “Direct sterilization of either men or women, whether
permanent or temporary, is not permitted in a Catholic health care
institution.” In addition, it states, “While there are many acts
of varying moral gravity that can be identified as intrinsically evil,
in the context of contemporary health care the most pressing concerns
are currently abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and direct
sterilization.”
The Catholic Church is a leader worldwide in promoting the gender hierarchy, not only in denying women leadership in the church, but working hard to keep women barefoot, pregnant, and married.
http://www.redding.com/news/local-news/mercy-will-honor-womans-request-to-have-her-tubes-tied_83675019
