ACLU of Pennsylvania Joins Lawsuit After Denial of Gender-Affirming Care

BERKS COUNTY, Penn. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and Community Justice Project have filed motions to intervene on behalf of patients in Penn State Health v. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, a lawsuit challenging the PHRC’s definition of sex discrimination.

The case stems from two incidents involving the denial of gender-affirming care by Penn State Health. One incident stems from Penn State Health’s decision to terminate gender-affirming care for patients under age 19 at all Penn State Health facilities. K.S. is the mother of a non-binary minor, K.W., whose gender affirming care was abruptly cut off by Penn State Health Briarcrest.

“K.W. was doing so well with hormone replacement therapy. They really started to feel more confident, less anxious, and just more at home in their body,” K.S. said. “It feels like a double-whammy. Penn State Health denied them treatment because they’re non-binary, and since we have Medicaid, there’s no one else to turn to. We'll have to drive four, five hours round trip to try to find a doctor, which is so hard on our family. Even after the election, we thought K.W. would be protected in Pennsylvania.”

In the other incident, EJ Stiles was an adult patient of Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center who was denied gender-affirming care on religious grounds by the hospital. Following the denial of care, ACLU-PA filed a complaint with the PHRC on behalf of Stiles, alleging that the abrupt cancellation of his gender-affirming surgery amounted to illegal sex discrimination and an unconstitutional invocation of religious liberty by a public institution.

"When seeking out my gender affirming care within Penn State, I was told people like me have a place within the healthcare entity,” said Stiles. “I took all the right steps, including following a referral to a surgeon who had operating privileges at St. Joseph Medical Center where I was then –months later– abruptly denied my medical care. In a call with the vice president of the hospital and the chief nursing officer, they offered a single explanation for cancelling my surgery just 13 hours before I was supposed to be in the operating room: ‘It’s against the Catholic Diocese.’”

Rather than participate in the PHRC complaint resolution process, Penn State Health St. Joseph sued the PHRC in Commonwealth Court. Although the PHRC dismissed Stiles’ complaint, determining that the hospital could assert religious doctrine to discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression, the hospital still proceeded with its lawsuit against the PHRC. Penn State Health St. Joseph, now joined by Penn State Health, seek to establish a religious exemption to Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination law and invalidate regulations that define sex discrimination to include gender identity or expression.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania and Community Justice Project are defending PHRC’s regulations.

“As a public institution, Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center’s willingness to inject religious doctrine into health decisions is blatantly unconstitutional and a violation of the First Amendment,” said Rich Ting, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “That violation would be bad enough on its own, but now Penn State Health is shamefully attempting to overturn sex discrimination regulations statewide. Religious dogma has no place in our government.”

“Penn State Health is arguing that discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation is legal under Pennsylvania law,” said Anne Puluka, staff attorney at Community Justice Project. “This goes beyond healthcare and would apply to schools, restaurants, stores, hotels, and all places of business that are open to the public. Such a sweeping claim would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous.”

You can read more about the ACLU-PA case and find the motion to intervene at aclupa.org/cases/penn-state-health-v-pennsylvania-human-relations-commission.

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