Bay Windows - December 17, 1998
Scott A. Giordano, Bay Windows staff

"Mr. Carr wanted the medical center to freeze and bank his semen and transport it to the mother's health care provider for insemination. ... That is something [NEMC] has done before but refused to do for Mr. Carr ... [because] they relied upon a very unscientific stereotype," said Mary Bonauto, who is representing Carr on behalf of the Boston-based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), a legal organization that specializes in lesbian and gay issues.

Carr also was represented by others at GLAD, including GLAD AIDS Project Director Ben Klein and cooperating attorney Susan Wilson of Brookline.

"Both the law and fundamental fairness dictate that the full range of health care, services and treatment be available without regard to sexual orientation as an unscientific stereotype about gay men automatically having HIV," Klein said.

Carr already has fathered a son through insemination when he decided to father a second child in July of 1996. He was informed by his primary care physician, John Mazullo, that the NEMC would provide him with the semen-banking services he requested and was referred to Reindollar.

Shortly after he was denied the services, GLAD filed Carr's complaint with the MCAD, alleging the NEMC and the doctor discriminated against him in the place of a public accommodation based on his sexual orientation and perceived HIV status.

According to the MCAD's investigative summary of the case, Carr was told in a letter from the NEMC that it provides insemination services "only to a man and a woman who are sexually intimate," and he alleged that the policy on its face discriminates against gay men and lesbians on the basis of their sexual orientation.

"My decision to have children was the result of many years of careful consideration," Carr said in a press release. "Yet in a few short weeks, [the NEMC] and Dr. Reindollar took that decision away from my family based on the fact that I am gay. This was not their decision to make."

MCAD investigating commissioner Douglas T. Schwarz agreed in his Nov. 23 written conclusion on the case.

"I ... conclude there is probable cause to believe that an act of discrimination occurred ... I also find there is probable cause to believe [the NEMC's] policies ... violate statutory prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation," Schwarz wrote.

Melissa McPhersen, a NEMC spokesperson, refused to comment on pending litigation but provided Bay Windows with a written statement on the Carr case.

"[The NEMC] is committed to providing medically appropriate service to all patients regardless of ... gender of sexual orientation," reads the written statement. "The Medical Center does not operate a sperm bank as a separate service, but rather as one aspect of a patient's total treatment program. ... On advice of counsel and because this matter is the subject of litigation, the Medical Center cannot comment further at this time. However, we are confident it will be found that Mr. Carr suffered no discrimination at [NEMC.]"

The case is scheduled for a conciliation conference on Jan. 14. "We will give that our best shot and go from there," Bonauto said. "From our perspective, reproductive technology really needs to be available to same-sex couples like all other medical services. It is widely used by gay people who want to form a family and need access to those services. This is a very important case and is part of the cutting edge of family law for gay people. I'm not aware of any finding like this anywhere in the country."

If the parties are not able to agree on a settlement at the Jan. 14 meeting, the case will be certified for a public hearing, with a final decision to be made by a designated MCAD commissioner.

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