The Alliance Defense Fund recently responded to a brief filed by Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York that seeks to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Catholic nurse who was forced to participate in the abortion of a 22-week-old unborn child.
On August 10, attorneys for Mt. Sinai Hospital filed a brief claiming that Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo, the Catholic nurse forced to participate in an abortion, has no right to sue.
The Alliance Defense Fund, in a suit filed on behalf of Cenzon-DeCarlo, is seeking to prosecute the hospital for violating the "Church Amendment" which "protects the right of conscience of pro-life health care workers employed by recipients of federal Health and Human Services funding."
According to the suit, Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo was forced to participate in the abortion despite her protests and was told by the hospital it was an emergency procedure. Cenzon-DeCarlo later found out the procedure was deemed a "Category II," meaning the circumstances were not life-threatening to the mother.
She was threatened with charges of insubordination and patient abandonment if she did not go along with the abortion.
Subsequently, when she filed a complaint, the hospital cut her over-time hours and tried to force her to sign a document agreeing to take part in abortions in case of emergency.
Since the incident, Mrs. DeCarlo has said that she cannot sleep and has been having nightmares, requiring her to seek the assistance of a physician.
"It felt like a horror film unfolding," said Cenzon-DeCarlo in an interview with the New York Post.
The Church Amendment "provides that no recipient of federal health funds may discriminate in the employment of privileges of its health care personnel because of their religious objection to abortion."
However, according to Mount Sinai Hospital, the Church Amendment "does not grant individual litigants a private right of action."
In the motion to dismiss, attorneys for Mt. Sinai claimed, "There is simply no basis to infer a private right of action under the Church Amendment."
The ADF, though, responded to this brief by filing its own letter with the court. In it, ADF said, "The law contains no exception letting Mt. Sinai compel assistance based on their unbridled judgment that abortion is an 'emergency.' "
"Mount Sinai's actions are a quintessential example of discriminating in employment and privileges on condition that Mrs. DeCarlo violate her objection to abortion."
Further, the ADF directly addressed Mt. Sinai's claim that Cenzon-DeCarlo is not allowed to sue because the Hyde Amendment does not cover private litigation. The ADF argued that even though the Hyde Amendment did not directly address private litigation, the absence of such a mention has always been understood to thus allow a private right of action.
"The Church Amendment involves all of the factors that the Supreme Court has used to recognize implied private rights and remedies."
"Mount Sinai Hospital is multiplying its injustices against Nurse Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo," said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman in an ADF press release.
"First it disregarded Cathy's conscience; now it argues she can't go to court to defend her rights. Mount Sinai Hospital does not have the right to disregard federal law and then refuse to face the consequences of its actions."
ADF is seeking an injunction against the hospital to ensure that it does not attempt to cut Cenzon-DeCarlo's hours during the lawsuit, or force her to participate in any more abortions. Furthermore, they are also suing for mental damages to Mrs. DeCarlo and arguing that Mt. Sinai should not receive any more federal funds under the Church Amendment.
Contact: Matt Anderson
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
Publish Date: August 24, 2009
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