When Michigan couple Krista and Jami Contreras brought their 6-day-old daughter to the pediatrician they'd been recommended to, they were surprised to be greeted by a doctor they hadn't met before.
Doctor turns away same-sex couple
According to the moms, the new doctor said that Dr. Vesna Roi — a pediatrician they'd already met with and eagerly anticipated working with — was refusing to take on Bay as a patient. Roi had reportedly gone so far as to avoid being in the office entirely so that she didn't have to see the Contreras family. Her explanation? She'd prayed on it and wouldn't be able to care for the baby of gay parents.
Both moms were humiliated. After only six days of life, their tiny daughter already needed to be shielded from bigotry.
Although physicians cannot refuse providing treatment because of a patient's sexual orientation, doctors can refuse providing treatment that conflicts with moral, personal or religious beliefs. Somehow, Krista and Jami Contreras' same-sex relationship conflicts with Roi's beliefs to the extent that she refuses to care for their brand-new baby.
This is all perfectly legal in Michigan, where there are no laws in place to protect LGBT families from discrimination.
For now, Bay has no way of knowing her family has been treated poorly by a medical professional. "Hopefully us telling our story can make sure by the time she's 6 years old this kind of thing can't happen," mom Krista told Fox 2 in Detroit.
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