On August 18th, the California Supreme Court ruled on Benitez v. North Coast. This case tests the Freedom of Religion Clause of the California Constitution on the issue of whether a physician has a constitutional right to refuse on religious grounds to perform a medical procedure for a patient because of the patient’s sexual orientation.

The American Civil Rights Union filed an amicus brief supporting North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group.

Unfortunately, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of Benitez, with Justice Joyce Kennard writing,

“A religious objector has no federal constitutional right to an exemption from a neutral and valid law of general applicability on the ground that compliance with that law is contrary to the objector’s religious beliefs” (italics in the original).

The American Civil Right Union was mentioned in several articles, including the Los Angeles Times, World Net Daily, and The Med Guru.