The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing a Kahala retirement community of illegal religious discrimination by warning its residents that they cannot take advantage of a new “morally repugnant” law that allows the terminally ill to obtain medication to end their life.

The ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief and the ACLU Foundation of Hawai‘i sent a letter to the Kahala Nui retirement home Thursday saying its actions violate the federal Fair Housing Act and Hawaii law.

The letter demands that the owners of the retirement home cease its discriminatory housing practices.

The ACLU cited a May 11 memo from Kahala Nui Executive Director Wendy Wong to its independent-living residents putting them on notice that exercising the provisions of the medical-aid-in-dying law, set to go into effect Jan. 1, “is not an option.”

The memo, sent to the ACLU anonymously, explains that the Kahala Nui residency agreement does not permit “any use or activity … morally repugnant to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Honolulu or inconsistent with the doctrines and teaching of the Church.”

The memo goes on to explain that the “morally repugnant” activities include, but are not limited to, any activity that “promotes, counsels, or endorses abortion, euthanasia, induced death or assisted suicide.”

Hawaii’s assisted-death statute, modeled after Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act, gives terminally ill patients the choice to obtain a prescription medication to end the patient’s life. The Hawaii bill was signed by Gov. David Ige in April.

ACLU Foundation of Hawai‘i Legal Director Mateo Caballero said Kahala Nui’s action amounts to bullying of its residents.

“This is a clear violation of the law,” he said.

As a housing provider, Kahala Nui may not impose its religious dictates on its residents, he said. The law neither allows a preference for one religion nor the ability to restrict the practice of another religion, he said.

In its letter, the ACLU gave Kahala Nui until Nov. 16 to rescind the memo, to agree to strike the morals clause from its residency agreement for new tenants and to stop enforcing the clause for all tenants.

“Hopefully, they will realize they are wrong and illegal. We’ve left the door open,” Caballero said.

Asked whether litigation is an option, Caballero said it is. “It’s not something we take lightly,” he said. “We would rather work with them.”

Kahala Nui’s Wong responded with the following statement issued through its public relations firm:

”We were surprised to receive the letter today from the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief and the ACLU of Hawai‘i Foundation, as neither organization reached out to us directly to discuss the matter. We are currently reviewing the contents of the letter with our legal counsel. That said, in no uncertain terms, Kahala Nui does not discriminate and has never denied residency based on religion, race, sex, color or any other basis.”

Kahala Nui opened 13 years ago with two residential towers on 6.5 acres leased from the Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church, which sits next door.

The Malia Street complex — owned by the not-for-profit Kahala Senior Living Community Inc. — includes 270 independent-living apartments and the Hi‘olani Care Center with 41 assisted-living units, 22 memory-support apartments and 60 nursing home beds.

The entire campus cost more than $100 million to build and was accomplished with the help of tax-free special-purpose revenue bonds issued by the state.

“That’s what makes this even more concerning. It was built with taxpayer-subsidized money,” Caballero said.

The Mary, Star of the Sea church website includes a photograph and description of Kahala Nui on its “community” page, but the Kahala Nui website doesn’t mention any church affiliation.

The passage of House Bill 2739, later named the Our Care, Our Choice Act, followed years of contentious debate over the state’s role in end-of-life issues.

The Catholic Church was among the religious entities that lobbied against the bill, while the ACLU urged lawmakers to support it.

Other assisted-death laws are on the books in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia and Montana, while two dozen other states continue to debate the proposal.

Caballero said that with the law soon going into effect here, he’d like to remind housing and service providers throughout the state that preventing the lawful exercise of rights and beliefs on the basis of religion is illegal.

“And we’ll be watching,” he said.