SAN FRANCISCO — A California appeals court has ruled that a transgender man can sue a Catholic hospital for cancelling his hysterectomy.
The Sacramento Bee newspaper reports Wednesday that the decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal overturns a lower court ruling dismissing the discrimination lawsuit.
Evan Minton sued Mercy San Juan Medical Center for cancelling his scheduled hysterectomy after he mentioned to a nurse two days before surgery that he’s transgender.
Hospital operator Dignity Health quickly helped transfer the surgery to a non-Catholic facility, but Judge Stuart Pollak said that didn’t negate Minton’s complaint.
Dignity Health says its Catholic facilities “do not provide elective sterilizations.”
California civil rights law says businesses must offer full and equal access to residents.
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This version corrects the name of the judge to Stuart Pollak.
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Information from: The Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com
The Associated Press
