Woman denied tubal ligation files human rights complaint

A woman who was turned down for a tubal ligation by a Catholic hospital in Humboldt, Sask., has filed a human rights complaint.

Lanigan resident Leann Gunther's plan was to get her tubes tied in mid-August after giving birth by caesarean section.

However, the board at St. Elizabeth's hospital —owned by the Saskatchewan Catholic Health Corporation— banned the procedure at the end of June. The Catholic church teaches that tubal ligations and other forms of artificial contraception are wrong.

Gunther was hoping for the hospital board to make an exception in her case, because she felt it was too late to make other arrangements.

"Unfortunately I wasn't willing to go to somebody I didn't know," she said. "I thought, 'Well, I'm going to phone or write an appeal and say please consider doing the tubal ligation because it's so close to my birth date.'"

However, Gunther didn't receive a reply until Aug. 30 — two weeks after her baby was born.

In his letter, the hospital board's chair, Jerome Strasser, apologized for the delay, saying it was due to a family bereavement. However, he defended the ban.

Hospital and church officials said they have the right to stick by their religious beliefs and women who want tubal ligations can go to other hospitals in the health region. Saskatoon is 112 kilometres west of Humboldt.

Gunter has filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

The debate over whether the hospital should be able to ban tubal ligations has been a burning issue in the town of 5,000. Some people support the ban, while others argueSt. Elizabeth'sreceives public funding and shouldn't deny services to the public.