A Catholic health system in Northern California is being sued for its alleged last-minute denial of medical care to a transgender patient.

Oliver Knight, a 29-year-old trans man, claims St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka canceled his August 2017 hysterectomy for religious reasons. “The Catholic bishops didn’t approve of my surgery. It seemed unreal,” he wrote in an essay for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is helping represent him in court.

The hospital’s decision was communicated to Knight “minutes” before the surgery was supposed to take place, he said.

The hysterectomy was an important step in his process of transitioning and was meant to help balance his hormones. He said he attended a separate pre-op appointment days earlier without any issues being broached and followed doctors’ instructions to prepare for the surgery.

On the day of the scheduled operation, he donned a hospital gown and hooked up to an IV. That’s when he said a surgeon came into his hospital room and informed him that the procedure couldn’t go forward.

According to the ACLU, Knight’s medical records show the cancellation was based on an “ethics assessment” completed by a religious priest with no medical training.

After hearing about the cancellation, Knight said he was given medication to address an anxiety attack. Fifteen minutes later, the hospital allegedly asked him to leave.

“I still had booties on my feet as a nurse led me outside,” he wrote in the essay. “I felt humiliated and queasy as I sat on the curb waiting for my roommate to pick me up.”

In addition to denying the surgery, Knight claims he was repeatedly misgendered by staff at the Catholic hospital. The staff allegedly refused to use the male pronouns he told them he preferred, even though his medical records identified him as male.

A nurse also refused his request for a blue gown instead of a pink one, telling him he was receiving a “female” surgery, he said.

“I felt like a child all over again, sitting uncomfortably in a pink dress. But I forced myself to do it, I had been waiting so long for this,” he said.