Pro-Life Federal Lawsuit Filed in Illinois

This morning I authorized the filing of a new federal lawsuit against Eastern Illinois University after Andrea Nead, a nurse who was working at the universitys Health Services Department, was not promoted because of her pro-life beliefs and her objection to dispensing the morning-after pill. 

ACLJ Senior Counsel Frank Manion, who is representing Nead, said, It is not only wrong to deny an applicant a position based on her religious beliefs, it is a violation of the law.  There appears to be a systematic pattern in place in the state of Illinois designed to punish pro-life health care professionals who merely want to fulfill their professional obligations without violating their religious beliefs.  This hostility toward pro-life health care professionals is very troubling, and we are confident that the court will uphold the constitutional rights of our client in this case.

Nead has been employed part-time at the Health Services Department of the university since 2000.  When a full-time position became available in October 2004, Nead applied for the promotion.  She was asked a number of questions, including whether she would be willing to dispense the morning-after pill.  Nead told the interviewer that the morning-after pill violated her religious beliefs because she believed it was a form of abortion by preventing a newly conceived human life from implanting to the uterine wall.  The interviewer told Nead that another applicant who eventually was hired for the position did not oppose dispensing the morning-after pill.  Our complaint contends that the decision not to hire Nead was based on her religious beliefs regarding the morality of dispensing the morning-after pill.

The suit names as defendants the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois University and the Director of Health Services for the university.  The suit contends that denying Nead the promotion violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The suit requests a trial by jury and unspecified damages.

We recently filed a lawsuit in state court challenging an amendment to the state code issued by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich that requires pharmacists to dispense medication even if filling the prescriptions violate their conscience and religious beliefs.  We represent six pharmacists in that case.

We have had success in protecting the rights of pro-life health care professionals in Illinois in the past.  In 2003, we filed a federal suit against the DeKalb County, Illinois Health Department on behalf of a health department employee who was denied a promotion because she expressed reluctance to participate in abortion counseling at the center.  The case was resolved after an agreement was reached and the county paid $40,000 to settle the employees claims. 

For updates on Andrea Neads case, please check out our website at www.aclj.org.