Is this right or wrong?

[Dinner]

Michele McCusker broke down in tears as she described losing her teaching job at Saint Rose of Lima School in Rockaway Beach.

The 26-year-old says less than a week after telling the principal that she was pregnant, keeping the baby, and had no plans to marry, she received a pink slip in the form of a letter telling her "a teacher cannot violate the tenets of Catholic morality. Termination of contract must occur."

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=3654652

On one level I can see how Catholic school teachers needs to be examples of good Catholics but on another level I find it repulsive that an employer could fire an employee for being pregnant. What happened to all that Christian forgiveness they're always talking about? Especially since she, apparently, wasn't using a condom per church policy and wasn't going to have an abortion per church policy.

[Dinner]

Atleast the ACLU has taken her case and has agreed to sue the **** out of the school for breaking New York state law.

[reds4ever]

I agree with the school, she should have knew the score when she took the job at a Catholic school.

Dems da rools!!!

[DinoDoc]

She doesn't seem like she'd have been a good teacher if she's that slow on the uptake.

[Flubber]

I know in Canada these types of rules were upheld in the past. You couldn't do it in the public system but in a religious system it seemed generally to be acceptable.

I think that the law should permit people to have their beliefs and if someone sets up a religious based school, it is not unreasonable to apply their religious rules. I don't have to agree with religious beliefs to think that the law should accept them.

[Boris Godunov]

Re: Is this right or wrong?

Originally posted by Oerdin
Especially since she, apparently, wasn't using a condom per church policy and wasn't going to have an abortion per church policy.

What about that whole not having sex outside of wedlock church policy?

[Richelieu]

[Meat Loaf] ... 'cause two out of three ain't bad [/Meat Loaf]

[reds4ever]

Re: Re: Is this right or wrong?

Originally posted by Boris Godunov


What about that whole not having sex outside of wedlock church policy?

Immaculate conception?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Its right for a Catholic school to be able to determine that its teachers not embody things that they are saying is wrong (ie, sex before marriage).

And they are a private school and are not firing someone based on race or gender (no matter what the ACLU says, this REALLY streaches the 'discrimination based on gender' idea). A lot of relgious jobs have a morals clause and this is no different.

For example, if this woman was a nun and she became pregnant, would people really be mad if the nunnery said get out?

[reds4ever]

Simple breach of contract, or will the discrimination laws over ride it?

[Fake Boris]

And religion takes a step further towards irrelevency.

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Its right for a Catholic school to be able to determine that its teachers not embody things that they are saying is wrong (ie, sex before marriage).

And they are a private school and are not firing someone based on race or gender (no matter what the ACLU says, this REALLY streaches the 'discrimination based on gender' idea). A lot of relgious jobs have a morals clause and this is no different.

For example, if this woman was a nun and she became pregnant, would people really be mad if the nunnery said get out?

But isn't marital status part of your right to privacy?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris
But isn't marital status part of your right to privacy?

Not that I know of. After all, for tax purposes and health insurance purposes, the company will most likely know of your status (and unlike medical information, maritial status isn't spelled out as protected in the law).

[q=reds4ever]Simple breach of contract, or will the discrimination laws over ride it?[/q]

May not be a breach of contract, depends on how the contract is written up. The ACLU is trying to get discrimination laws to apply, but I doubt it'll work... unless the state has some very wierd law at work here.

[OzzyKP]

If she worked at a conservative Muslim school I bet she'd be in trouble if she refused to cover her head. Or likewise if she got pregnant out of wedlock.

I think firing her makes sense. How can you teach religious doctrine when the teachers openly defy it?

[DaShi]

If she got an abortion could she keep the job?