(RNS) After a controversial abortion performed at a Catholic hospital in Phoenix, the American Civil Liberties Union is asking federal officials to protect “emergency reproductive care” at religiously affiliated hospitals.

The ACLU called on the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to investigate violations of federal law concerning emergency reproductive care at religious hospitals.

In its letter to CMS’s Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, the ACLU asked the government to clarify that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) protects all patients, including pregnant women, who need emergency care at all hospitals.

“The government must ensure that the well-being of the patient does not take a back seat to religious beliefs,” said Vania Leveille, ACLU legislative counsel.

The ACLU’s request follows recent national criticism of a bishop who announced the excommunication of a nun for approving an emergency abortion at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

Sister Margaret McBride was demoted from her role on the hospital’s ethics committee for approving an abortion of a woman who was 11 weeks pregnant. Doctors said the woman would have died without the abortion.

“Religiously-affiliated hospitals — which are often the only hospital in a particular area — are not exempt from providing critical care to patients who come through their doors,” said Daniel Pochoda, legal director of the Arizona ACLU.

The ACLU cited four additional cases when a patient’s life was threatened by decisions at Catholic hospitals, which comprise 15 percent of all U.S. hospital beds. The Catholic Health Association, an umbrella group for Catholic hospitals, was not immediately available for comment.

“No woman should have to worry that she will not receive the care she needs based on the affiliation of the nearest hospital,” said Brigitte Amiri, an ACLU staff attorney.