Catholic hospital discriminated against transgender man by refusing to give hysterectomy, judge says

A federal judge has ruled that a Catholic hospital in Maryland discriminated against a transgender patient by refusing to perform a hysterectomy as part of their gender transition. 

Officials at St. Joseph Medical Center, which is owned by the University of Maryland, refused to proceed with a hysterectomy scheduled for patient Jesse Hammons, 33, a transgender man. 

Hammons, who was born a female, brought the suit after the hospital said they could not perform the surgery due to guidelines set  by the National Catholic Bioethics Center.  

U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Chasanow ruled Friday the hospital's refusal to provide the patient with the gender-affirming surgery was 'discriminatory.'

Officials at St. Joseph Medical Center, which is owned by the University of Maryland, refused to proceed with a hysterectomy scheduled for patient Jesse Hammons, 33, a transgender man

U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Chasanow ruled Friday the hospital's refusal to provide the patient with the gender-affirming surgery was 'discriminatory'

Hammons, represented by the ACLU, said the hospital- which receives federal funding- refusing to provide the January 2020 surgery was discriminatory 

Chasanow agreed, writing in a court opinion: 'As a matter of law, Defendants discriminated against Plaintiff on the basis of his sex.' 

The judge said in her opinion released Friday the hospital is not covered by the Religious Sisters of Mercy injunction and therefore would not be covered under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. 

Despite the hospital being privatized by the state's legislature, Chasanow previously ruled that the network's work with the Maryland government makes it a public entity. The public entity status therefore makes the hospital unable to claim religious exemption. 

The surgery had been ordered for Hammons after he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a distress felt by people whose sex assigned at birth does not match their gender identity. 

The procedure, which removes a person's uterus, was deemed medically necessary, the lawsuit stated.

Hammons went to St. Joseph's in 2019 seeking a hysterectomy and the procedure was ultimately scheduled for January of the next year. 

The procedure was canceled after the man's doctors discussed the surgery with St. Joseph's chief medical officer and it was determined it did not align with the hospital's beliefs. 

This is the hospital which refused to give Hammons his gender-affirming hysterectomy 

Hammons went to St. Joseph Medical Center in 2019 for the surgery which was later canceled after the chief medical officer said it did not align with the hospital's values 

After St. Joseph officials changed course, the hospital's parent network offered to move the procedure to a different facility that did not adhere to the Catholic ethical considerations. 

Hammons declined and eventually filed the suit against the hospital. 

'When they canceled Mr. Hammons' medically necessary surgery, Defendants thus treated Mr. Hammons — as a man who is transgender — differently from non-transgender patients who require medically necessary hysterectomies for other medical conditions,' the lawsuit filed in 2020 stated.  

The transgender man later went to another hospital and had the procedure done months later. 

In a statement after the judge's opinion was released, Hammons called the judgement a 'great win' and said he hopes the hospital with do away with the 'harmful policy.' 

'This is a great win for myself and all transgender people denied equal treatment because of who they are,' Hammons said. 'All I wanted was for UMMS to treat my health care like anyone else's, and I'm glad the court recognized how unfair it was to turn me away. I'm hopeful UMMS can change this harmful policy and help more transgender people access the care they need.' 

'We're thankful the court saw through a transparently discriminatory and harmful action by UMMS,' said Joshua Block, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBTQ & HIV Project. 

'The government has no business operating a religious hospital, much less do they have the right to deny transgender patients care they routinely provide to cisgender patients,' Block continued. 

St. Joseph Medical Center is just one hospital in the the University of Maryland Medical System, a nonprofit healthcare network

St. Joseph Medical Center is just one hospital in the the University of Maryland Medical System, a nonprofit healthcare network. 

Chasanow ruled that the refusal violated the Affordable Care Act's protections against discrimination based on sex. 

UMMS and St. Joseph Medical Center officials say they are reviewing the ruling.

According to the court documents, questions regarding damages owed by St. Joseph Medical Center to Hammons, if any,  'are reserved for trial.' 

The University of Maryland Medical System acquired St Joseph's in 2012 and the hospital said it would hold on the Catholic identity of the Center.