Transgender man in NJ sues after Catholic hospital denies surgery

New Jersey 101.5 video

TRENTON — A transgender man has sued a Catholic hospital in New Jersey after he says it cited religion in refusing to allow his surgeon to perform a hysterectomy procedure.

Jionny Conforti says the procedure was medically necessary as part of his gender transition.

His lawsuit filed Thursday comes at the same time as new regulations hailed as groundbreaking anti-discrimination protections for transgender individuals have come under legal attack from religious groups.

The 33-year-old Totowa man had scheduled the surgery at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson in 2015. But he alleges in the lawsuit that a hospital administrator then told him that the procedure to remove the uterus couldn't be done because it was a "Catholic hospital."

A hospital spokesman said he hasn't seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

In a separate lawsuit, Paramus Catholic High School and the Archdiocese of Newark are accused of violating the state’s discrimination law by firing a guidance counselor and coach who got married to her same-sex partner.

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