Catholic Hospital Set To Deny Women's Tubal Ligation Procedures

RACINE, WI — Citing Catholic doctrine, a Hospital in Racine is reportedly set to ban a female sterilization process commonly referred to as getting one's "tubes tied."

According to a Racine Journal Times report, multiple employees of Wheaton Ascension Hospital in Racine confirmed that the hospital is set to discontinue that service, technically called a tubal ligation, for women in July 2018. Tubal ligation is a sterilization procedure for women in which the fallopian tubes are cut, tied or sealed to prevent pregnancy.

Ascension spokesman Caryn S. Kaufman, wouldn't tell the Racine, Wis. newspaper details about the hospital's plans, but send a statement saying “As a matter of policy, Ascension abides by the ethical and religious directives for Catholic health care services and does not provide direct sterilizations.”

According to federal law, medical providers who do not want to provide an abortion or sterilization services are protected under a federal exemption. According to the Guttmacher Institute, Wisconsin is one of 17 states that allow individual health care providers to refuse to provide sterilization services.

Ascension, the world's largest Catholic and non-profit health provider, made headlines in late 2015 after doctors at Genesys Regional Medical Center in Michigan wouldn't allow 33-year-old Jessica Mann to get her tubes tied during a cesarean section delivery.

According to reports, doctors said that Mann had brain tumors that could make any future pregnancy potentially fatal. Mann sent an exemption request to the hospital.

They refused the request, according to an MLive report.

"As a Catholic healthcare system, we follow the ethical and religious directives of the Church. Beyond that, we can't comment on this patient's particular case," according to a statement from Genesys that was published on MLive.com

According to the Journal Times report, women seeking tubal ligations in Franklin and St. Francis hospitals must have their request go through a committee for review. In addition, any tubal ligations in Franklin are performed off-site.

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