- Posted October 04, 2011
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Rejected single woman can sue fertility clinic
By Ed White
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) -- A woman seeking to become pregnant can sue a western Michigan fertility clinic that turned her down because she's single, the state appeals court said last Friday as it reinstated a discrimination case.
Dr. Douglas Daly had rejected Alison Moon, claiming he feared being sued for child support and citing what he considered inadequate protection under Michigan law.
A Kent County judge said doctors have the right to choose patients and dismissed the case against Daly's Grand Rapids clinic last year. But a three-judge panel at the appeals court said discrimination based on marital status is illegal in Michigan.
"A doctor may only deny his or her consent to enter into a doctor-patient relationship ... based on legally permissible, non-discriminatory reasons," judges Elizabeth Gleicher, Joel Hoekstra and Cynthia Diane Stephens said.
A doctor, they said, can't be allowed to follow "personal prejudices or biases."
Moon, 42, had been traveling to Ann Arbor but wanted a clinic closer to her home in Portage, 60 miles south of Grand Rapids. She asked about becoming pregnant through in vitro fertilization with donated sperm, but Daly turned her down, fearing he could somehow be pursued for child support for helping a single woman become pregnant.
"Until I feel there is adequate law, I will not be providing insemination services to single individuals. ... I am not willing to gamble my financial future on this issue," Daly said in an email that was part of the court record.
Moon's attorney, Ken Rathert, said the doctor had nothing to fear.
"Parents are liable for support, not third parties," Rathert said. "He was blowing that out of proportion. ... I'm very pleased with the decision."
Megan Cavanagh, an attorney for the clinic, Grand Rapids Fertility and IVF, declined to comment. A message seeking comment was left for Moon. She also sued another clinic that turned her down but settled the matter out of court.
Published: Tue, Oct 4, 2011
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