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Judi Lynn

(160,217 posts)
Wed May 29, 2013, 06:52 AM May 2013

OH teacher fired while pregnant to testify

Source: Associated Press

OH teacher fired while pregnant to testify
By LISA CORNWELL, Associated Press | May 29, 2013 | Updated: May 29, 2013 1:29am

CINCINNATI (AP) — A teacher fired after becoming pregnant through artificial insemination was expected to tell jurors her version of events as the trial in her lawsuit against a Roman Catholic archdiocese and two of its schools entered its second day.

Christa Dias has sued the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the schools over her 2010 dismissal, contending they fired her simply because she was pregnant and unmarried. Her attorney, Robert Klingler, told a federal jury in opening statements Tuesday that the firing violated federal law prohibiting pregnancy discrimination. The trial was set to continue on Wednesday.

The archdiocese's attorney, Steve Goodin, told jurors "there was no discrimination," saying Dias was fired for violating a contract that he says required her to abide by Catholic doctrine. The archdiocese has said that artificial insemination violates that doctrine and is immoral.

Dias, who is not Catholic, alleges in her lawsuit that church policy is not enforced equally against men and women. A man formerly employed in youth ministry at a suburban Dayton parish within the archdiocese testified in a sworn video deposition Tuesday. He testified that some church officials were aware that he and his wife used artificial insemination when they were trying to have a child and that he was not fired or disciplined in any way.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/OH-teacher-fired-while-pregnant-to-testify-4555603.php

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OH teacher fired while pregnant to testify (Original Post) Judi Lynn May 2013 OP
I wish her good luck on winning this case. In_The_Wind May 2013 #1
Religion disgust me!! SkyDaddy7 May 2013 #2
that's nice demwing May 2013 #3
To be honest... SkyDaddy7 May 2013 #18
Religion serves many purposes: lindysalsagal May 2013 #33
Me too. Gore1FL May 2013 #23
Did the man use his own semen? marshall May 2013 #4
What man? LisaL May 2013 #12
The article said...... Amaril May 2013 #22
The Catholic Church does allow exceptions for homologous artificial insemination marshall May 2013 #24
Translation: Men must be given all access to vagina. lindysalsagal May 2013 #34
I truly hope that the Catholic Church tries to explain, on the stand, why his sperm is more msanthrope May 2013 #26
Exactly! MissB May 2013 #31
If she didn't want to be fired, she shouldn't have been so godless and gravid Orrex May 2013 #5
Must not disobey the law of gravidy. n/t skamaria May 2013 #7
You're a bad person for writing that. Orrex May 2013 #9
Too much! BrotherIvan May 2013 #16
But, but - it's not a law - it's only a THEORY! csziggy May 2013 #29
While I can sympathize with the woman's plight, she can hardly be Sheldon Cooper May 2013 #6
But wasn't Mary's baby the product of "artificial insemination?" PSPS May 2013 #10
Ah, but Mary wasn't Catholic SnowCritter May 2013 #11
I want my own magic pony. lindysalsagal May 2013 #35
Question is can the school shield itself by using a First Amendment defense cstanleytech May 2013 #17
yes and they'll win on that fact dlwickham May 2013 #21
Um...no. They still have to abide by employment law. And if they were msanthrope May 2013 #25
I'm willing to bet that she signed some document prior to her employment dlwickham May 2013 #27
A private agreement would not trump employment law. nt msanthrope May 2013 #28
a contract would dlwickham May 2013 #30
Some freedoms can be curtailed in schools because they are caring for children. lindysalsagal May 2013 #36
Precisely...discrimination against pregnant women is blatantly illegal. msanthrope May 2013 #37
church doctrine does allow for discrimination dlwickham May 2013 #38
And when anti-discrimination against gay people is codified in law as it is msanthrope May 2013 #39
and they wonder why teachers want unions dembotoz May 2013 #8
While this outlines the various things that I find to be a mess in the Church... ScreamingMeemie May 2013 #13
Maybe it is time mainstreetonce May 2013 #14
Some Catholic schools do a great job. Shrike47 May 2013 #19
What a wonderfully ambiguous headline! Nimajneb Nilknarf May 2013 #15
the Catholic church needs to just shut up about sex, so people don't notice the hypocrisy yurbud May 2013 #20
...because they're so "pro-life." Would someone please make up their minds? lindysalsagal May 2013 #32
Actually they're being consistent dflprincess May 2013 #40
They can rationalize it all they want. But if they want to hire employees, they have to follow the msanthrope Jun 2013 #42
SHE WON!!!! msanthrope Jun 2013 #41

SkyDaddy7

(6,045 posts)
18. To be honest...
Wed May 29, 2013, 11:10 AM
May 2013

That about covers it...I see no purpose in religion other than for folks to use as a crutch & as the ultimate method of lying to one's self.

Not to mention how religion screws over women, homosexuals & those who don't buy into a certain brand of religion or religion at all...Then there is the political ramifications.

Gore1FL

(21,030 posts)
23. Me too.
Wed May 29, 2013, 02:45 PM
May 2013

The whole God thing is difficult enough to wrap my head around. Religious dogma has played a negative role throughout history.

Amaril

(1,267 posts)
22. The article said......
Wed May 29, 2013, 02:16 PM
May 2013

...there was another employee -- a man -- who used artificial insemination when he & his wife were trying to get pregnant, and he was not fired or disciplined in any way.

marshall

(6,661 posts)
24. The Catholic Church does allow exceptions for homologous artificial insemination
Wed May 29, 2013, 03:51 PM
May 2013

"Homologous artificial insemination within marriage cannot be admitted except for those cases in which the technical means is not a substitute for the conjugal act but serves to facilitate and to help so that the act attains its natural purpose."

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19870222_respect-for-human-life_en.html

I can't find any information about whether this man's case (the one she is using to suggest unfair treatment) involved homologous or heterologous artificial insemination.

 

msanthrope

(37,549 posts)
26. I truly hope that the Catholic Church tries to explain, on the stand, why his sperm is more
Wed May 29, 2013, 04:09 PM
May 2013

sacred than the sperm she procured. Truly.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
29. But, but - it's not a law - it's only a THEORY!
Wed May 29, 2013, 04:45 PM
May 2013

The theory of gravidy. Not binding if it's not a law.

Sheldon Cooper

(3,724 posts)
6. While I can sympathize with the woman's plight, she can hardly be
Wed May 29, 2013, 08:39 AM
May 2013

surprised that the Catholic church, of all things, doesn't support the practice of having children born out of wedlock by artifical insemination. Honestly, did she really think they were going to be cool with this? Especially in a teaching position, where they are supposed to be role models for the children.

Having said that, I hope she wins on grounds of discrimination under federal law. And by the way, I also know a very devout Catholic couple who conceived twins through artificial insemination, with their priest's consent. Everyone in both of their extremely devout families was okay with this, as well. (One of the grandmothers used to be a nun, that's how religious they are.) The husband's sperm was used, if that makes any difference.

PSPS

(13,512 posts)
10. But wasn't Mary's baby the product of "artificial insemination?"
Wed May 29, 2013, 09:31 AM
May 2013

I went to catholic school and nobody ever said Mary was "married" to God or rode His Magic Pony.

cstanleytech

(26,080 posts)
17. Question is can the school shield itself by using a First Amendment defense
Wed May 29, 2013, 11:07 AM
May 2013

seeing as its a school run by the Catholic church?

 

msanthrope

(37,549 posts)
25. Um...no. They still have to abide by employment law. And if they were
Wed May 29, 2013, 04:06 PM
May 2013

going to win on the 1st amendment, it never would have gotten to a jury--it would have been dismissed, pre-trial.

dlwickham

(3,316 posts)
27. I'm willing to bet that she signed some document prior to her employment
Wed May 29, 2013, 04:15 PM
May 2013

as part of her contract stating that she'll abide by church doctrine while she is an employee

first of all, she's an unwed mother; 2nd, she used artificial insemination to become pregnant

two big no-no's for Catholics

dlwickham

(3,316 posts)
30. a contract would
Wed May 29, 2013, 07:02 PM
May 2013

unless it contained something blatantly illegal

you have to remember this is a Catholic school and religious schools are given a lot of leeway by the government

it's still a freedom of religion issue-can a religious school force their employees to abide by church doctrine even if those employees aren't members of that church and it's generally been decided that schools can

lindysalsagal

(20,440 posts)
36. Some freedoms can be curtailed in schools because they are caring for children.
Wed May 29, 2013, 10:04 PM
May 2013

I have no idea if the freedom of reproduction will be one of those, since it doesn't actually threaten children: It only threatens church doctrine.

It may depend on where the case is tried. She'd win in new york, maybe not in south carolina or nebraska.

 

msanthrope

(37,549 posts)
37. Precisely...discrimination against pregnant women is blatantly illegal.
Thu May 30, 2013, 06:18 AM
May 2013

Here's what you have to remember: luckily, our laws regarding pregnancy do not allow an employer to pick and choose between which pregnancies they like, and which they don't. Church doctrine does not allow for discrimination, nor violation of equal protection.













dlwickham

(3,316 posts)
38. church doctrine does allow for discrimination
Thu May 30, 2013, 12:46 PM
May 2013

a teacher can't be openly gay and keep his or her job

see the case of the PE teacher, also in Ohio

 

msanthrope

(37,549 posts)
39. And when anti-discrimination against gay people is codified in law as it is
Thu May 30, 2013, 12:54 PM
May 2013

for pregnant women, they won't be able to. You are conflating protected persons.

ScreamingMeemie

(68,918 posts)
13. While this outlines the various things that I find to be a mess in the Church...
Wed May 29, 2013, 09:58 AM
May 2013

what did she expect? (no pun intended)

Artificial insemination aside, I couldn't even get my kid baptized in the stupid church because she was born out of wedlock.

Shrike47

(6,913 posts)
19. Some Catholic schools do a great job.
Wed May 29, 2013, 11:25 AM
May 2013

Our sons went to a Catholic high school, even though we aren't Catholic. Very good fit for them, for various reasons.

 

Nimajneb Nilknarf

(319 posts)
15. What a wonderfully ambiguous headline!
Wed May 29, 2013, 10:43 AM
May 2013

A person who is pregnant to testify can provide a great wealth of information in a courtroom.

dflprincess

(28,057 posts)
40. Actually they're being consistent
Thu May 30, 2013, 08:43 PM
May 2013

The Church maintains that any "artificial" interference with conception (or its contra-) is meddling with "God's Plan".

I'm not agreeing with or defending them, just explaining how they rationalize this.

 

msanthrope

(37,549 posts)
42. They can rationalize it all they want. But if they want to hire employees, they have to follow the
Mon Jun 3, 2013, 07:37 PM
Jun 2013

law.

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