CINCINNATI (AP) — A lawyer for a teacher fired after she became pregnant through artificial insemination says an Ohio Roman Catholic archdiocese and two schools violated her civil rights.
The attorney for Christa Dias made the charge Tuesday as the trial in her federal lawsuit against the Cincinnati archdiocese and the schools began in federal court.
Dias' attorney, Robert Klingler, contended she was fired for being pregnant and unmarried, violating pregnancy discrimination law.
Archdiocese attorney Steven Goodin says she was fired for violating her contract requiring her to follow church doctrine. The church says artificial insemination violates that doctrine.
The archdiocese also has said Dias was a ministerial employee. The Supreme Court has said religious groups can dismiss such employees without government interference.
