Friend –

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that a patient's health – not politics or ideology – must drive important medical decisions. And yet one of California's largest healthcare providers is considering partnerships that would place discriminatory restrictions on the kinds of procedures they provide. Speak out now!

The University of California (UC) Health System is the fourth largest healthcare provider in California and the training ground for half of California's medical students and residents. As a public entity, UC Health cannot and should not limit its care based on religious doctrine. And as a national leader in promoting comprehensive reproductive and LGBTQ+ inclusive healthcare, UC must stand for both its own and California's values.

Last fall, UC Health's many community members asked the UC Board of Regents not to engage in any affiliations that subject its providers, staff, or patients to discriminatory restrictions on care. UC was supposed to vote on this issue in May.

UC has delayed this vote indefinitely, even though every UC campus with a medical center has already signed contracts that impose religious restrictions on UC clinicians, limiting their ability to practice evidence-based medicine and prohibiting them from providing essential reproductive and LGBTQ+ inclusive healthcare to patients.

When the UC Board of Regents holds this vote, we must be ready to demand that the UC stand for ALL patients and protect reproductive and LGBTQ-inclusive health care.

Join us for a Virtual Speak Out on Thursday, September 24. You'll learn more about the UC campaign, hear from guest speakers, and create your public comments. Show UC Health that our community stands for patient health, free of any restrictions!

Register, and you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the meeting. Let's show UC that our community stands for patient health, free of any discriminatory restrictions.

In solidarity,

Amanda Young
Organizer and Program Associate, ACLU of Northern California