Dallas Strong never thought religion would affect her medical care.

The 36-year-old mother of two from Arvada will undergo a tubal ligation Friday at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge to heal a bleeding condition in her uterus.

If plans to sell the hospital to a Kansas Catholic organization go through, she wouldn't be able to get that procedure at Lutheran. That means no hospital in Jefferson County — one of the largest counties in the state — would perform tubal ligations, vasectomies, abortions or other forms of birth control.

"I'm flabbergasted," Strong said. "I was appalled that this was even something somebody could actually consider."

"They're hurting the average citizen. They're hurting me — a single mother who can only make it to Lutheran Hospital. Hospitals are there to care for people and not to show your religious might."

Some doctors also are up in arms about the pending $611 million sale of Lutheran and Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette to Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System. They say doctors will leave the hospitals because they don't want to compromise care. And that will hurt patients.

"The physicans and the community have a long-settled expectation that Lutheran will provide whatever services the community needs based on advances in medical science ... and not directed by any outside religious factors," said Carla Murphy, an emergency room doctor and president of the hospital's more than 900-member medical staff. "It's a question of patient and physician autonomy.

"It's a devastating loss of services to the community that the community is largely unaware of."

Lutheran's medical staff is writing a letter of opposition to Attorney General John Suthers, and leaders of that group are scheduled to meet with Suther's office Friday.

The hospital's medical peer review committee, a panel of doctors who check cases for safety and quality care, has threatened to resign because members don't want to police doctors with regard to the religious directives.

At issue are the "ethical and religious directives" that hospitals operated by Catholic organizations must follow. Medical staff at these hospitals cannot give birth control counseling or perform related medical procedures. The Archdiocese has urged parties involved in the sale to follow the directives.

Lutheran doctors performed 378 tubal ligations, four medically-necessary abortions and seven vasectomies at the hospital last year, according to Murphy. The abortions were as a result of medical emergencies to the mothers or the fetuses.

Murphy said doctors also wouldn't be permitted to take a person in a vegetative state off life support even if that's what the patient directed through a living will.

The St. Anthony hospital system - which is planning a new site in Lakewood that would make it the only other hospital in Jeffco - is owned by a different Catholic group. Reproductive procedures are not performed there.

Suthers has the option to block the sale. Because of a state law that allows his office to determine if the sale of a non-profit entity is in the best interest of the public, Suthers can take action if he determines the sale would result in a "material change" in services.

His office has received a "large number" of letters and correspondence from organizations who favor and oppose the sale, said spokeswoman Nate Strauch.

Suthers has until the end of December to make a decision.

Lutheran and Good Samaritan hospitals are operated by Exempla Healthcare. Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth already own a stake in the hospitals, but they would become sole owners if current partner, the Community First Foundation in Arvada, sell its shares.

Exempla also opposes the sale. William Jessee, a doctor and chair of Exempla's Board of Directors, wrote a letter to Suthers Nov. 1 expressing concerns over the medical restrictions.

Community First and Sisters of Charity both insist that the sale will be good for the community. They say the procedures that would be prohibited represent less than one percent of total services at the hospitals and would be provided at other sites.

Palmer Pekarek, communications director for Community First, said millions of dollars will be spent on providing these services elsewhere.

"We want to make sure that these services continue to be provided in any manner that we possibly can," he said.

Christine Woolsey, spokeswoman for Sisters of Charity, said the sale came about in part because Exempla asked them to find ways to fund capital projects. As part of the transaction, $300 million will immediately go to pay for improvements at the hospitals. Sisters of Charity also purchased the old Children's Hospital site in Denver and is planning to build a new St. Joseph hospital there.

"We understand there are concerns about the change, but the large investment that is going to come from Sisters of Charity into the Denver area to go directly to patient care and quality improvements outweighs the change in procedures."