The Justice Department filed lawsuits today alleging that two obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN) doctors in Bakersfield, California, refused to provide routine medical care to a patient on the basis of her HIV status, in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The complaints, filed in the Eastern District of California, allege that Dr. Chibuike Anucha, MD, PC, and Dr. Umaima Jamaluddin, MD, in unconnected incidents, refused to provide routine OB/GYN care to a patient due to the patient’s HIV status. According to the complaint against Dr. Jamaluddin, the doctor refused to allow the patient to make an appointment for preventative care, including a Pap smear, when she learned of the patient’s HIV status during intake. According to the complaint against Dr. Anucha, the doctor, during a consultation for uterine fibroids, told the patient that she needed a Pap smear, but the doctor said he would not perform it because he does not treat high-risk patients, including patients with HIV. The lawsuit alleges that a Pap smear is a routine medical procedure, and that an individual with HIV is not high-risk for a Pap smear such that referral to a specialist would be necessary.
