Michigan doctor refuses to treat baby of same-sex couple
Feb 19, 2015, 6:42 PM
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A Michigan pediatric doctor is making headlines for refusing to treat the baby of a female couple late last year.
According to MyFoxDetroit, Krista and Jami Contreras welcomed a baby girl into the world last October.
The month prior, they met with Dr. Vesna Roi, who was recommended by the couple’s midwife, at Eastlake Pediatrics in Roseville, Michigan.
The Contrerases had the baby, Bay, at home and went to see their doctor six days later, but they were greeted by another physician.
“The first thing Dr. Karam said was ‘I’ll be your doctor, I’ll be seeing you today because Dr. Roi decided this morning that she prayed on it and she won’t be able to care for Bay,” Jami said.
“Dr. Karam told us she didn’t even come to the office that morning because she didn’t want to see us.”
The new parents soon started to look for a different pediatric group, making it clear that they were a lesbian couple.
On, Feb. 9, after the Conterases, who were married in Vermont in 2012, shared their story on social media, they received a letter from Roi, which included the following statements:
“After much prayer following your prenatal, I felt that i would not be able to develop the personal patient-doctor relationships that I normally do with my patients.”
“We do not keep prenatal information once we have our meetings so I had no way to contact you.”
She apologizes, saying, “I should have spoken with you directly that day,” and “please know that I believe that God gives us free choice and I would never judge anyone based on what they do with that free choice.”
The American Medical Association says physicians cannot refuse to care for patients based on sexual orientation, but doctors can refuse treatment if compromises their personal, religious or moral beliefs. Also, Michigan has no laws that protect LGBT families from discrimination.
