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Author Topic: Prochoice teacher who was fired, is denied right to sue
barb_anello
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1319

posted 09 June 2006 11:41 AM      Profile for barb_anello   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
A former Catholic school teacher who was fired for expressing her support of abortion rights in a newspaper ad that ran on the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade may not sue the school under Title VII because such a claim would force the courts to rule on the validity of a religious institution's beliefs, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

In its 22-page opinion in Curay-Cramer v. The Ursuline Academy of Wilmington, the court rejected the plaintiff's argument that Title VII's "opposition clause" protects any employee who has had an abortion, who contemplates having an abortion or who supports the rights of women who do so.

Read more: 3rd Circuit Denies Fired Teacher's Suit Over Support for Abortion Rights
Shannon P. Duffy, The Legal Intelligencer, dd June 8, 2006


From: North Bay | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
M. Spector
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posted 09 June 2006 11:57 AM      Profile for M. Spector   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I liked the way the judge said that ruling on the merits of the case would violate the separation of church and state!

I wonder how deferential the court would be if it was a matter of a dispute over Muslim doctrine?

[ 09 June 2006: Message edited by: M. Spector ]


From: One millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 09 June 2006 12:18 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by barb_anello:
A former Catholic school teacher who was fired for expressing her support of abortion rights in a newspaper ad that ran on the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade may not sue the school under Title VII because such a claim would force the courts to rule on the validity of a religious institution's beliefs, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

Are Catholic schools publicly funded in the US? If so, time to change that. If not...well, I don't know. I mean, if she were working for a church, would they be within their rights to fire her for publicly advocating positions antithetical to church doctrine? I would tend to think that, yes, they would be.


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
barb_anello
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posted 09 June 2006 12:55 PM      Profile for barb_anello   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Michelle:
Are Catholic schools publicly funded in the US?

History of Catholic School Funding

"Thirty-one states presently have Blaine amendments, or amendments derived from the Blaine formula, in their constitutions forbidding state aid to Catholic schools." 24 [Robert P. Lockwood (ed.) Anti-Catholicism in American Culture (Our Sunday Visitor, 2000) p. 35]

[ 09 June 2006: Message edited by: barb_anello ]


From: North Bay | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
M. Spector
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posted 09 June 2006 02:08 PM      Profile for M. Spector   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Wrongful dismissal is wrongful dismissal, whether you work for a Church or an auto parts manufacturer. It should be obvious to any progressives that employers should not be free to fire employees for exercising their right of free speech.

They may be entitled to appropriate your labour power, but they don't own your mind.


From: One millihelen: The amount of beauty required to launch one ship. | Registered: Feb 2005  |  IP: Logged
jeff house
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posted 09 June 2006 02:40 PM      Profile for jeff house     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Of course, the question is whether the dismissal is "wrongful" or not.

So that becomes a question of whether Catholic schools have the right to insist on their teachers upholding Catholic doctrine in public, even after working hours are over.

It reminds me of a Canadian case, in which a Catholic teacher was fired because she was living with a man to whom she was not legally married.

The Supreme Court said that Catholic schools are entitled to fire people not willing to conform to doctrine in their moral activity.


From: toronto | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged

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