Guadalupe Benitez, a lesbian who was denied fertility treatments because of her sexual orientation, has settled a lawsuit against Dr. Douglas Fenton and Dr. Christine Brody at North Coast Womens Care in Vista, California:
"Benitez alleged that the doctors told her they would not inseminate
her because their religious convictions — they are Christians —
prohibited them from doing the procedure for a lesbian couple. Benitez went to another doctor, got pregnant and had a child with
her partner, Joanne Clark. The boy is now 7. The couple also have
4-year-old twins. But she sued the doctors and clinic, arguing that the state's civil
rights laws do not allow doctors to discriminate against patients based
on their religious beliefs. A state appeals court in San Diego ruled in 2006 in favor of the
doctors. But in August 2008, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously
for Benitez, saying that religious-liberty claims cannot excuse illegal
discrimination. Both the doctors and the couple released a joint statement in which
the doctors said they were sorry that Benitez and Clark felt they were
being treated differently because of their sexual orientation. The doctors said they want “all of their patients, including those
who are lesbian and gay, to feel welcome and accepted in their medical
practice, and are committed to treating all of their patients with
equal dignity and respect in the context of the highest quality of
medical care.”
