ADF earns victory for nurse demoted for not distributing ‘morning after’ abortion pill
Judge denies hospital’s motion for summary judgment
Friday, January 05, 2007

COVINGTON, La. — A lawsuit filed by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys on behalf of a nurse demoted for refusing to distribute the morning-after pill will be permitted to go forward. A Louisiana court today informed an ADF-allied attorney that the denial of the hospital’s motion for summary judgment is official.

ADF attorneys filed suit on behalf of Toni Lemly in 2005 after St. Tammany Parish Hospital refused to grant a reasonable accommodation for her religious beliefs.

“This case is about protecting a person’s freedom of conscience, particularly when it is guided by religious beliefs,” said ADF-allied attorney Brian Arabie of Lake Charles. “The hospital acted unlawfully when it refused to make a reasonable accommodation for Ms. Lemly and instead terminated her full-time position.”

Lemly informed hospital staff that she objected to administering the “morning after” abortion pill because of her religious beliefs.In response, St. Tammany Parish Hospital fired Lemly from her full-time position and reduced her to part-time status, working only three days a week. Her demotion resulted in a significant reduction in pay and the loss of employee benefits. The hospital declined several reasonable suggestions made by Lemly, a nurse for 23 years, that would have enabled the facility to continue administering the pill while allowing her to abstain from dispensing it herself. The hospital chose not to act on any of her suggestions. the rest