Ariz. Physician Permitted To Sue County, Other Groups After Losing Job Over Abortion-Related Issues

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 24 Mar 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in three separate decisions earlier this month ruled that a physician who served as a state hospital's chair of obstetrics and gynecology can pursue claims against Maricopa County, members of the county board of supervisors and individuals who allegedly took action to have him removed from the position because of his support for an abortion residency rotation, BNA reports.

The groups allegedly took individual and joint efforts to have J. Christopher Carey removed as chair at Maricopa Medical Center and as program director for the Phoenix Integrated Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology program after he voiced support for an initiative that allowed medical residents to participate in an abortion rotation with a Planned Parenthood facility that offers reproductive health services.

According to BNA, Carey -- who supports abortion rights and served as PIROG's director after 2001 -- was allegedly targeted by a series of investigations and actions based on false accusations, which were eventually used by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors as grounds for his removal from leadership positions. The lawsuits against the county and other parties were brought in 2005, in which Carey charged that his constitutional rights under the first and fourteenth amendments were violated, that he experienced discrimination based on religious and moral beliefs under both state and federal law, and that there was intentional interference with his contractual relationship with his practice group, MedPro (BNA, 3/23).

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