Tuschka

The Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civ. Code, § 51 et seq.) provides a comprehensive statutory scheme to protect all persons from unlawful discrimination. A medical doctor is not immune from the broad sweep of the act. The irony here is that appellant was in need of surgery to repair an umbilical hernia, and turned to the medical profession for help. She was turned away minutes before surgery because of a disability—she was HIV positive. The surgery was abruptly canceled in the hospital’s preoperative room by the anesthesiologist, respondent Dr. Theodore Tuschka, after he learned from appellant’s chart that she was HIV positive and was not taking antiretroviral (ARV) medications. Respondent refused to go forward with the surgery because of his concern for his own safety and that of the operating room staff.

As we shall explain, the trial court prejudicially erred by submitting the issue of whether appellant was disabled to the jury. A person with HIV is disabled as a matter of law. Here there is an additional reason why appellant is disabled as a matter of law: respondent “regarded or treated” her as a person with a disability.

Appellant’s complaint against respondent alleges…