14 DAY TRIAL // 33-year-old Jessica Mann of Flushing, Michigan, is now expecting her third child. She also has a brain tumor, which is why she was advised by her obstetrician and by a neonatal specialist to have her tubes tied so that she would not get pregnant again.
She was told that, although the tumor is not yet a threat to her life, she does risk medical complications should she have to carry another pregnancy to term and go through labor for a forth time. The woman talked about it with her husband and they agreed that tubal ligation was the right thing to do.
Except her hospital refuses to perform the procedure
Jessica Mann, now 34 weeks pregnant, is to deliver her child at the Genesys Regional Medical Center, a Catholic hospital in Grand Blanc. She is to give birth via C-section and she wants to have her tubes tied during delivery.
The problem is that, citing religious reasons, the Genesys Regional Medical Center is refusing to do it. They say that, were they to tie her tubes during the C-section, they would essentially sterilize her and, in doing so, prevent procreation.
Since preventing procreation goes again their Catholic beliefs, they cannot possibly go ahead and do it. Not when her brain tumor is not an immediate threat and so the tubal ligation Jessica Mann wants is not a matter of life and death.
Religious hospitals and medical centers in the US are allowed by law to deny patients abortions or sterilization if this goes against their beliefs. They need only perform such procedures in case of a life-threatening emergency.
As noted, 33-year-old Jessica Mann is not in immediate risk of dying because of her brain tumor unless her tubes are tied so that she would not conceive again. Hence, legally speaking, the Catholic hospital has every right to turn her down.
The woman is fighting the hospital’s decision
Having had her request turned down by the Genesys Regional Medical Center, Jessica Mann is now looking for another hospital to deliver her child and have her tubes tied during the intervention.
Nonetheless, she has not yet given up hope that the Catholic hospital will have a change of heart. Together with the American Civil Liberties Union, she is fighting their decision on the grounds that, in her case, sterilization is not just a whim but a medical necessity.
“Although everyone has a right to practice their religion as they see fit, religion cannot be used to harm others, which is what is happening here,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement, as cited by The Inquisitr.
“Jessica Mann and every person who goes into the hospital seeking medical care should not have to worry that religious beliefs rather than medical judgment will dictate what care they receive,” the organization added.