Transgender man wins lawsuit against St. Joseph after hospital cancels hysterectomy

BALTIMORE – A federal judge ruled the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center discriminated against a transgender Baltimore man on the basis of sex when the hospital canceled his hysterectomy in 2020.

Jesse Hammons said he was all ready for the surgery in January 2020 when the hospital canceled the surgery the night before it was scheduled. 

The surgery was recommended by Hammons' physician to treat gender dysphoria.

The Towson hospital's chief medical officer told the surgeon it "cannot do transgender surgery at St. Joseph."

"His story, really, is a powerful example of some of the impact these policies have on real people," ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Josh Block told WJZ Friday. "(St. Joseph) has a duty to treat everyone equally, including transgender patients."

Judge Deborah Chasanow ruled St. Joseph, a hospital in the University of Maryland Medical System, violated the Affordable Care Act when it discriminated against Hammons. 

Block says because the hospital is state-run, it must treat all patients equally.

"The government has no business running a religious hospital and enforcing religious doctrine," Block said. "The hospital needs to be following secular laws and that's not the right place to be having a religious institution."

Any damages would have to be rewarded at trial, the judge ruled.

In a statement to WJZ, a spokesperson for St. Joseph Medical Center blamed the lawsuit on a surgeon who "mistakenly scheduled a procedure."

The statement from Mary Ann Hodes reads:
"The University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center and the University of Maryland Medical System are carefully reviewing the decision from Judge Chasanow. We dispute many of the conclusions that were reached in this decision and may be in a position to comment further after additional analysis of the ruling. Legal disagreements aside, we sincerely wish the very best for Mr. Hammons and we support his efforts to seek the highest quality healthcare. We may disagree on certain technical, legal points but compassion for the patients we serve remains foundational to our work. This legal claim stems directly from, and is traceable to, a surgeon mistakenly scheduling a procedure that could not be performed at UM SJMC. Although our offer to perform gender affirming surgery at a different location was declined by Mr. Hammons, the University of Maryland Medical System remains committed to meeting the unique medical needs of transgender individuals and patients who are routinely scheduled by physicians for appointments and procedures at UMMS member organizations."