Amicus Brief: Dray v. Staten Island University Hospital

The New York Civil Liberties Union submitted amicus brief in a case that raises the question of whether the lower court’s vacatur and reversal of its prior decision granting Plaintiff-Appellant Rinat Dray’s motion to amend her complaint, including violations of her civil rights under the New York City, State Human Rights Law, and Civil Rights Law § 40, was proper.

In this case, Ms. Dray was forced by Defendants-Respondents, pursuant to a discriminatory Staten Island University Hospital Maternal Refusal Policy, to undergo a highly invasive cesarean surgery without her consent. Ms. Dray has plainly alleged facts that the SIUH Maternal Refusal Policy singles out pregnant women to override their right to refuse medical treatment, which constitutes sex and/or gender discrimination in violation of the NYCHRL, NYSHRL, and Civil Rights Law.