TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – A Catholic hospital denies that it unfairly discriminated against a transgender man who sued after the hospital refused to allow a surgeon to remove the man’s uterus as part of his sex transition.
Saint Joseph’s Healthcare System said that a court ruling in Jionni Conforti’s favor would violate its constitutional right to freedom of religion. The hospital filed its response to the lawsuit Friday in federal court.
The 33-year-old Totowa man had scheduled the hysterectomy at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson in 2015. His lawsuit alleges a hospital administrator told him the hospital couldn’t perform the procedure to remove his uterus because it is a Catholic hospital.
He later had the surgery performed at another hospital, but Conforti is seeking a court order requiring the hospital to perform any needed medical care for transgender patients. He is also seeking monetary damages.
“The damages caused by the delay, as well as the humiliation and the stress caused by being discriminated against, is something that cannot be excused and are contrary to the law,” said Conforti’s attorney, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, of Lambda Legal. “St. Joseph’s purportedly prides itself on having a patient-first approach. When you discriminate against a patient because of who it is that really is not putting the patient first.”