Marlene Barbera, a Portland-area breast cancer patient, alleges she was dropped by a medical center in the city when she complained to her doctor about a transgender flag displayed in the reception area.
“This letter is to inform you that effective immediately you are discharged from receiving medial care at the Richmond Family Medicine Clinic,” reads the July 29 notice. “This action is being taken because of ongoing disrespectful and hurtful remarks about our LGBTQ community and staff.”
In the letter she sent to her doctor, Barbera wrote she feels uncomfortable as a biological woman entering the medical center with that "enormous transgenderism banner hanging like a Nazi flag behind the reception desk."
The family medicine clinic is part of the Oregon Health and Science University.
Barbera’s punishment caught the attention of watchdog group New Tolerance Campaign, which was formed to push back against the “tolerance” bullies. The group has now come to her defense on social media and in news stories such as this one.
“This is something that I think that everyone should be concerned about whether or not you're a woman, whether or not you're struggling with cancer or other medical issues,” Gregory Angelo, who leads the group, tells AFN. “Because in the case of OHSU, it's showing that hospitals can ban you from medical treatment not because of anything you did but because of your beliefs."
Barbera’s punishment by OHSU has been noticed by numerous media outlets, such as a sympathetic Daily Caller story. A less-sympathetic Newsweek story began with national statistics about harassment of homosexuals, lesbians, and transgenders, which came from homosexual activist group GLAAD.
Similarly, a story by Oregon Public Broadcasting reported a bomb threat against the family clinic which OPB indirectly blamed on Twitter account Libs of TikTok. Libs is a hated enemy of the tolerance bullies for documenting their intolerance, and the post about Barbera's letter from OHSU generated 4.3 million views and was retweeted 11,000 times.
Meanwhile, Angelo says the public needs to understand the tolerance bullies who are willing to punish a cancer patient can come for them, too.
“Marlene's opposition to radical transgender ideology is not necessarily routed in any specific faith perspective,” he warns, “but could people of faith be denied medical coverage in the future because of a faith-based, religious-based position that they are taking?”
