Hospital in Spain Faces Backlash After Doctor ‘Diagnosed’ Woman With ‘Homosexuality’

A hospital in southeast Spain is facing backlash after one of its doctors “diagnosed” a gay patient as “homosexual.”

The Guardian reports that a 19-year-old woman visited a gynecologist at Reina Sofia hospital in Murcia on Monday, and left her appointment with a diagnosis on paper that read, “Current illness: homosexual.”

“I laughed it off at first, but that’s the way it is,” the woman said, according to the publication. Her mother added that the doctor checked with the patient for consent to write her sexual orientation in his report. The patient and her mother put the situation on the radar of local pro-LGBTQ Colectivo Galayctyco, which addressed the Ministry of Health, demanding answers and an apology from the regional government. 

“The World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses in 1990, and yet, 31 years on, there are still some professionals in Murcia’s health service who view sexual orientation as an illness,” Galactyco said in a statement. “Our association has received countless reports of degrading treatment because of sexual or gender orientation. We find it alarming, unacceptable and intolerable that there are professionals today who are responsible for our health, but who ignore the realities of LGBTI people.”

A spokesperson from the Murcian Health System told local media the issue may have been a mistake “when the patient’s details were taken,” that “all necessary measures would be taken to properly establish the facts and to proceed accordingly,” and that the woman would receive an apology.