SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The University of California's governing board has adopted a new policy that tightens the rules on affiliations with hospitals that impose religious restrictions on health care.
The new policy follows criticism the UC system has faced for affiliations with religious hospitals that refuse to provide services such as abortions, sterilizations or transgender surgery.
Wednesday's vote by the UC Board of Regents does not require existing contracts to be terminated. But it states new contracts can only be made with health care providers that offer their services to all patients, without discrimination.
It would allow UC personnel at sectarian hospitals to perform needed procedures, such as a hysterectomy or delivery of an ectopic pregnancy, if they cannot safely be transferred elsewhere.
