A series of Maryland hospitals on Tuesday changed their coronavirus visitation policies to include religious ministry after a woman filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services.
The complaint, in which Susanna Marcus accused the University of Maryland Medical System of preventing a Catholic priest from administering the sacraments to her husband, Sidney Marcus, represented a civil rights violation, according to Roger Severino, the director of the Office of Civil Rights at HHS.
Susanna Marcus and her husband were injured in a car accident in late May. They were both taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center, one of 13 UMMS hospitals, where Susanna Marcus recovered more quickly than Sidney Marcus, who was placed in intensive care. Susanna Marcus filed her complaint in June when the hospital administration told her that, because of “safety concerns,” a Catholic priest could not administer the sacrament of last rites to her husband, whose condition appeared to be worsening at the time.
Severino explained during a Tuesday call with reporters that in resolving the issue in the Marcuses’ favor, the department considered both the health concerns of the hospital and the spiritual needs of religious people. The hospital, Severino said, was right to take safety precautions in limiting visitors. But in the case of Sidney Marcus, he added, his wife’s desire for last rites was wrongfully denied.
“Spiritual needs do not exist only at the point of death,” he said, noting that Catholics often administer the sacrament when death is not imminent, but still feared.
The resolution of the dispute applies only to UMMS hospitals.
The hospitals’ updated policies allow for religious visitation so long as ministers conform with hospital regulations, including screenings for coronavirus infections and temperature checks at the door. The hospital will also require ministers to wear personal protective equipment, a condition the priest for Susanna Marcus had agreed to when her request was originally denied.
Severino said that the issue brought to the fore a tension between efforts to ensure spiritual and physical health during the pandemic. The Trump administration, Severino said, is trying to address both spheres by looking at the “integrated human being” when considering potential conflicts.
“It is critically important that as we try to save as many lives as possible that we remember what people live for,” he said.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar addressed the resolution of the issue as well, saying in a statement that the Trump administration is making it a “priority” to defend the free exercise of faith “at all times and especially during this pandemic.”
HHS has become involved in several religious liberty disputes during the pandemic. In addition to resolving the Maryland hospital dispute, the Office of Civil Rights on Tuesday also resolved a dispute between a medical student and a New York hospital over whether or not the student would have to shave his beard, worn for religious purposes, to properly wear an N95 mask. The department advised an exception where the student be allowed to wear an alternative form of PPE that wouldn’t force him to shave his beard.
“Accommodations like these avoid forcing people to choose between following their profession or following their faith,” Severino said. “Religious freedom and patient safety should both be preserved, even and especially during times of crisis.”
