Michigan pediatrician refuses to serve lesbian couple
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Dr. Vesna Roi, 49, a Michigan pediatrician, sent what the Detroit Free Press today calls this letter of apology to the parents of a newborn:
"Dear Jami & Krista, I am writing this letter of apology as I feel that it is important and necessary.
I never meant to hurt either of you. After much prayer following your prenatal (visit), I felt that I would not be able to develop the personal patient doctor relationship that I normally do with my patients."
It's not so much an apology as an explanation, though.
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The parents are lesbians.
The Free Press is telling their story today because the parents think there ought to be a law.
Currently, 22 states have laws that prohibit doctors from discriminating against someone based on their sexual orientation. Michigan is not one of these states, according to the Free Press.
It would be illegal in Minnesota.
The state's Human Rights Act makes it illegal "to intentionally refuse to do business with, to refuse to contract with, or to discriminate in the basic terms, conditions, or performance of the contract because of a person's race, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, or disability, unless the alleged refusal or discrimination is because of a legitimate business purpose."
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