Court Rejects Church Amendment Claim Of Nurse Told to Assist With Procedures

An operating room nurse who claims a New York City hospital violated the Church Amendment in compelling her to assist with emergency abortion procedures lacks authority to enforce the federal law, a federal trial court ruled Jan. 15 (Cenzon-DeCarlo v. Mount Sinai Hospital).

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York said the lawsuit brought by Catherina Lorena Cenzon-DeCarlo against Mount Sinai Hospital had to be dismissed because the law, which prohibits discrimination by federally funded health care entities against those who perform—or who refuse to perform—abortions and certain other procedures, was not subject to ...