‘I will always put my faith first’: Catholic health educator fired for refusing to teach birth control

Source :The Washington Post

December 21 at 1:51 PM

A former Texas health-center worker said she was fired and discriminated against after refusing to teach patients about contraceptive practices that, she says, violate her religious beliefs.

Karen Alexia Palma, a devout Catholic, filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday, nearly six months after she was fired by Legacy Community Health in Houston.

As part of her job as a health educator, Palma taught a family planning class three times a month. For a year and a half, she said, Legacy Community Health had been willing to accommodate her religious beliefs by allowing her to play a 20-minute video about birth control instead of personally talking about it with patients. A registered nurse also was on-site to answer questions patients might have about contraceptives, she said.

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