Melanie Jones fell in the shower one day and went to the doctor. She was bleeding and in pain.
At Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago near where she lives, the doctors found that her copper intrauterine device (IUD) had become dislodged. The Catholic hospital then refused to remove the device because of Catholic restrictions.
Jones said:
“I think my first feeling was shock. I thought that eventually they were going to recognize that my health was the top priority.”
The doctor left and confirmed that her “hands were tied.” All of the facilities in Jones’ network had similar religious restrictions. Jones felt that no one was concerned with her health.
A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote this in a complaint:
“She told Ms. Jones that that process [of switching networks] would take her a month, and that she should feel fortunate because sometimes switching networks takes up to six months or even a year.”
Catholic hospitals will not provide abortions or contraception. They won’t do abortions even if the mother’s life is in danger. Women experiencing miscarriages have been turned away. They could get around the restrictions on birth control pills because they can be used for heavy periods or acne. Unfortunately, an IUD doesn’t have alternate purposes.
Jones was finally able to find a doctor to remove it five days after her original appointment. This was two weeks after she initially fell and the IUD was dislodged. She was in pain from it.
Jones said:
“I felt like I was being punished for having an IUD. And that they were judging me and telling me, because you did this we are not going to help you.”
This is just plain ridiculous. Would they have turned her away if she were a man having complications from a vasectomy?
Featured image by Sarah Mirk via Flickr, available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
