FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A nurse practitioner from northern Virginia sued CVS Well being on Wednesday, saying she was fired for refusing to supply abortion-inducing medication at its MinuteClinic medical services.
Within the lawsuit, Paige Casey mentioned CVS had for years granted her a spiritual lodging that allowed her to choose out of prescribing or offering the medication and sure contraceptives with out incident.
Final 12 months, although, she says the corporate modified its coverage and stopped offering such lodging.
Casey – who labored for MinuteClinic since 2018, primarily at a facility in Alexandria – appealed to the corporate, saying her Catholic religion teaches her that life begins at conception and he or she couldn’t present care in violation of that precept.
She says she was fired in late March, the identical day she emailed firm officers to reiterate her objections.
Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit authorized group led by conservative Christian Michael Farris, is representing Casey and says Virginia regulation explicitly bars employers from taking disciplinary motion towards workers who object to abortion on ethical or non secular grounds.
“Each American ought to have the liberty to function in accordance with their moral and spiritual beliefs,” ADF lawyer, Kevin Theriot, who’s representing Casey, mentioned in a telephone interview.
Michael DeAngelis, a spokesman for Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS, mentioned the corporate tries to accommodate non secular beliefs, however mentioned sexual well being providers are an important a part of the job at MinuteClinics.
“It’s not potential … to grant an lodging that exempts an worker from performing the important features of their job,” he mentioned in a written assertion. “We can’t grant exemptions from these important MinuteClinic features.”
Theriot mentioned there may be little or no case regulation beneath the Virginia statute, partly as a result of “very hardly ever do companies simply come out and fireplace someone due to their non secular convictions.”
However he mentioned most states present comparable protections, and federal regulation offers safety as properly.
Sufferers who needed contraception or abortion medicines not offered by Casey might merely schedule or be served by different practitioners within the MinuteClinic community, Theriot mentioned. And that labored seamlessly till CVS modified its coverage, Theriot mentioned.
“CVS created an issue the place none existed,” he mentioned.
The lawsuit was filed in Prince William County Circuit Court docket.
