High Court to Hear Lesbian Rights Case

SAN DIEGO —  The state Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a lawsuit by a lesbian against two fertility doctors who refused to artificially inseminate her on religious grounds.

Without comment, the court said it will hear the appeal by attorneys for Guadalupe T. Benitez, 34, of Oceanside in her lawsuit against Vista-based North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group and Dr. Christine Brody and Dr. Douglas Fenton.

An appeals court ruled last year against Benitez, saying that the doctors could use religious freedom as a defense against her lawsuit. The doctors say their refusal was based on the fact that Benitez was unmarried, not because she’s a lesbian.

In their appeal to the state Supreme Court, attorneys for the Los Angeles office of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said there is an “urgent public need to resolve persistent confusion” over whether religious rights can trump protection under state anti-discrimination laws.

Benitez “was treated in a shameful way by these doctors,” Lambda attorney Jennifer C. Pizer said. “They betrayed the trust she placed in them as a patient.”