A Catholic nurse practitioner in Virginia is suing CVS for firing her after she refused to provide or prescribe abortion drugs to patients at MinuteClinic facilities, according to a news release from Alliance Defending Freedom.
CVS owns MinuteClinic.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Prince William County Circuit Court, Paige Casey was fired after three years on the job despite CVS previously granting her a religious exemption.
She is asking for $100,000 in damages, including back pay.
Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit legal group that champions conservative causes, is defending Casey and says Virginia law bans employees from taking disciplinary action against employees who object to abortion on religious grounds.
"Corporations like CVS cannot defy the law by firing professionals who want to work consistently with their faith," said ADF senior counsel Denise Harle, director of the ADF Center for Life. "Paige had a spotless record of caring for patients, yet CVS decided to abruptly fire her solely because of her religious belief that life begins at conception.
"Virginia law protects the freedom of everyone to work without fear of being fired for their religious beliefs prohibiting participation in abortion."
A spokesman for CVS said the company tries to accommodate religious beliefs but providing sexual health services is a core part of working at the walk-in clinics.
"It is not possible ... to grant an accommodation that exempts an employee from performing the essential functions of their job," Michael DeAngelis, executive director of corporate communications for CVS Health, said in a statement. "We cannot grant exemptions from these essential MinuteClinic functions."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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