A pediatrician refused to see a baby, allegedly because the child has two moms.
According to USA Today, Krista Contreras and her wife, Jami Contreras, were in an exam room in Roseville, Michigan, with their 6-day-old daughter, waiting to see the doctor that they had chosen months earlier. Much to their surprise, however, the doctor never came in . Instead, another doctor entered the room, and told the new moms that the doctor they had chosen had decided that she could not see their newborn, and that she came to the decision after “much prayer.”
As you can probably imagine, this news was certainly a shock to the couple, who say that the doctor knew that they were lesbians at the time they made their daughter’s first appointment.
“I was completely dumbfounded. We just looked at each other and said, ‘Did we hear that correctly?’… When we tell people about it, they don’t believe us. They say, ‘(Doctors) can’t do that. That’s not legal.’ And we say, ‘Yes it is,’” said Krista Contreras.
And, believe it or not, this sort of thing is completely legal. While there are laws that protect against discrimination for things like sex and race, there is nothing that protects someone when it comes to their sexual preferences.
“There is no federal law that explicitly prohibits discrimination against LGBT individuals. Part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws hiring or employment discrimination on the basis of a person’s ‘race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.’ But it doesn’t include sexual orientation,” reports USA Today .
The pediatrician who refused the baby with two moms has since released a statement, though she claimed that she couldn’t talk about this case directly because of the HIPAA laws.
“My life is taking care of the babies. I love my families, my patients. I love my kids. And I have become very close with all my patients,” said Dr. Vesna Roi.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , Dr. Roi wrote a letter to the Contreras family to apologize. It definitely sounds like Dr. Roi tried to defend her position as a doctor, but she never actually explained why she refused to complete the baby’s wellness visit, especially because she reportedly knew that the child had two moms before the family showed up for the first appointment.
“Dear Jami & Krista, I am writing this letter of apology as I feel that it is important and necessary. I never meant to hurt either of you. After much prayer following your prenatal (visit), I felt that I would not be able to develop the personal patient doctor relationship that I normally do with my patients.”
According to the New York Daily News , the letter made no mention of the couple being gay. At this time, the Contreras’ have decided not to sue the doctor . Do you think they are making the right decision?
[Photo courtesy of the Detroit Free Press video]
