GROTON, Conn. — Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Messé just wants to continue practicing family medicine in the Navy the way he has for two and a half years.

But the Catholic doctor is attracting the Navy's attention due to his strong religious conviction against prescribing or referring patients for contraception. His refusal to refer patients to another physician so they can get contraceptives could violate the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery guidelines.

Messé, who works at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Conn., developed his conviction more than three years ago and made arrangements with his then commanding officer that he would not have to prescribe or refer patients for medical care he thought was morally and medically wrong.

But things changed last summer. The new director of clinical services, Capt. H.A. Taylor, ordered Messé to refer for contraception. The physician recently filed a formal complaint against him and his commanding officer, Francis MacMahon, in an attempt to stop what he considers religious persecution.

In a letter to Messé on Aug. 11, 2003, MacMahon wrote: “There will be no inconvenience for any patient requesting contraceptive services. I expect you to be polite, considerate and tolerant of the beliefs of others as Naval Health Care New England is respectful of yours. [You must] refer your patients to another credentialed provider to ensure they receive the contraceptive services they have requested.”

Messé has agreed to obey his new commanding officer's orders, despite his conscientious objection.

“I was told that practice limitations could be implemented and that I could be forcibly separated from the Navy, which would require me to pay the government back for my medical school,” he said. “He also said I could be transferred.”

He's concerned about a transfer, saying it could jeopardize his wife's health. Charnette Messé was diagnosed with breast cancer 18 months ago and has established “excellent relationships with her health care team,” Messé explained.

Navy public affairs officer Lt. Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said due to the ongoing investigation by the Navy Judge Advocate General, it would be inappropriate for the Navy or Messé's commanding officer to comment or provide any other details.

“But the Navy's [Bureau of Medicine and Surgery] instructions state that specific medical personnel who object to participating in specific procedures related to family-planning services on moral, ethical or religious grounds shall not be required to perform or assist in such procedures unless their refusal poses an immediate threat to the health of a patient,” Carpenter said. “However, the BUMED also states that, as a practitioner, they are responsible for referring the patient for the services required.”

Getting Support

Bishop Michael Cote of Norwich, Conn., the diocese in which Groton is located, supports Messé.

“It is completely illogical to acknowledge a person's right to an accommodation based on their belief that an act is immoral and yet require that person to help someone to obtain that immoral service,” Bishop Cote said.

Pat Gillen, an attorney with the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., believes the real problem is the Navy's regulation, which requires doctors such as Messé to provide physician referrals.

According to Gillen, requiring doctors to cooperate in the provision of services they recognize as morally illicit through such referrals violates their right to free exercise of religion as well as a number of federal statutes.

“The problem is that there are a lot of people who could end up in Tom's predicament, and we think the Navy's BUMED instructions are wrong,” Gillen said. “Tom's new commanding officer ordered him to refer patients for contraceptive services because according to the existing laws of the U.S. Navy, he was able to.”

But different commanding officers can use their authority regarding the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery differently.

“I never prescribed or referred for contraception or sterilization when I was a doctor in the military,” retired lieutenant Robert Holder said.

Dr. John Littell, regional director for the Catholic Medical Association and a Desert Storm veteran, agrees.

“It's not the military that I knew,” he said. “Besides, whatever happened to informed consent? Conversations with women patients have become very [patronizing], and doctors shove contraception down women's throats that can cause blood clots, breast cancer, heart attack and stroke.”

Forcing Messé to practice bad medicine is what concerns retired Col. Richard Watson, M.D., now head of the Military Guild for the Catholic Medical Association.

“When a doctor decides that something is bad medicine, then his professional judgment for his patients needs to be respected. Not just in direct patient care but in referrals as well,” Watson said. “Why must a doctor find someone to practice bad medicine on his behalf?”

Living the Faith

Messé is also getting support from other religious leaders. In a Dec. 15 letter to Messé's commanding officer, Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of the Archdiocese for the Military Services U.S.A. said, “I would respectfully support [Messé's] moral stance and would hope that individuals of such integrity would not be penalized for deeply held convictions that are in accord with the teaching of the Catholic Church.”

“We have long upheld every service member's right to the free practice of his religion,” the Navy's northeast regional chaplain, Capt. Mary Washburn, said. “I most heartily endorse the stance Dr. Messé has taken in regard to the living out of his faith. I believe his expectation of accommodation on the part of the Navy is both legitimate and manageable.”

Messé is optimistic. “I love the Navy and want to make my career in the Navy,” he said. “I hope those involved learn from this and learn to respect other religions. But as for what's next for me, I'll have to wait and see what the outcome of the investigation holds.”

Colleen Hammond writes from Dallas.