Nurse Denied Promotion Over Her Pro-Life Views, Sues Illinois College

[Riprorin]

Nurse Denied Promotion Over Her Pro-Life Views, Sues Illinois College

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 9, 2005


Urbana, IL (LifeNews.com) -- A nurse has filed a lawsuit against Eastern Illinois University saying the college refused to promote her to a higher job at the student health center because of her pro-life views and refusal to dispense the morning after pill, which sometimes causes an abortion.
Andrea Nead had been employed as a part-time nurse at EIU's Health Services Department since 2000. When a full-time position became available in October 2004, Nead applied for the promotion.

EIU administrators asked Nead a number of questions during the interview, including whether she would be willing to dispense the Plan B drugs. Nead told the interviewer that the morning-after pill violates her religious beliefs because she believes it is a form of abortion.

The complaint contends that the interviewer told Nead that another applicant -- who eventually was hired for the position -- did not oppose dispensing the morning after pill.

Nead's lawsuit, filed by the American Center for Law and Justice, complains that the decision not to hire Nead was based on her religious beliefs regarding the morality of dispensing the morning after pill.

"It is not only wrong to deny an applicant a position based on her religious beliefs, it is a violation of the law," explains senior ACLJ legal counsel Frances Manion.

EIU spokeswoman Vicki Woodard, told the Associated Press that "the reason Andrea Nead was not hired was unrelated to dispensing the morning-after pill.''

Manion pointed out that this is the latest incident of employment discrimination against health care professionals in Illinois, following an order by Governor Rod Blagojevich ordering all state pharmacists to dispense any legal drug, including those that cause abortions.

"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," Manion said.

"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," Manion added.

The ACLJ today filed suit for Nead in the U.S. District Court in Urbana, Illinois.

The suit contends the 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 ACLJ has also filed one of three lawsuits seeking to overturn Blagojevich's order and represents six pharmacists in the case.

The pro-life law firm previously represented an employee in DeKalb County, Illinois who was denied a promotion because she expressed reluctance to participate in abortion counseling at the health center where she worked.

The case was resolved after an agreement was reached and the county paid $40,000 to settle the employee's claims.

Link

How can a health care provider be discriminated against for following the Hippocratic Oath:

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.

 

[IndieSnob]

Absolute FUD.

If the pill is legal to give in the state, then she doesn't have a leg to stand on, imo. I don't see this as being discriminatory based upon her beliefs. She should look for work where she won't have to dispense it.

 

[Harvey]

More GARBAGE from lifenews.com. A nurse is not authorized to negate the directions of a physician, PERIOD! If a physician prescribes a "morning after" pill, it is the nurse's responsibility to implement the physicians instructions.

Not only should she not be promoted. She should be FIRED! :|

 

[BDawg]

I'm glad they held her back. I hope more cases like this follow. He beliefs are keeping her from performing her job correctly.

 

[jimkyser]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
How can a health care provider be discriminated against for following the Hippocratic Oath:

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.

Funny that you would quote the classical version of the Oath and not the Modern one. The classical version doesn't even allow a doctor to perform surgery. Kind of out of touch with the reality of 'modern' medicine, don't ya think?

Information about the classical and modern versions of the Hippocratic Oath, including full texts

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: BDawg
I'm glad they held her back. I hope more cases like this follow. He beliefs are keeping her from performing her job correctly.

Note that her actions, not her beliefs are the justification for holding her back, and they are indeed sufficient.

Sorry Rip, it's not her 'beliefs' that are the problem - if discriminating against someone who refuses to do their job is a problem in America, then I think America has a pretty big problem.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: Harvey
More GARBAGE from lifenews.com. A nurse is not authorized to negate the directions of a physician, PERIOD! :|

Would you include in that statement following the directives of the doctors at Nuremberg?

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: Harvey
More GARBAGE from lifenews.com. A nurse is not authorized to negate the directions of a physician, PERIOD! If a physician prescribes a "morning after" pill, it is the nurse's responsibility to implement the physicians instructions.

Not only should she not be promoted. She should be FIRED! :|

Are you suggesting that you can only be a health care provider if you agree with killing babies?

 

[kogase]

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: Harvey
More GARBAGE from lifenews.com. A nurse is not authorized to negate the directions of a physician, PERIOD! :|

Would you include in that statement following the directives of the doctors at Nuremberg?

If the nurses attending Dr. Mengele don't want to follow his directives, they can just fvck right off. Just like this nurse. Seeing as how the morning after pill is legal, and any physician that prescribes it is well within his and his patient's rights, no nurse has the authority to override his directives. Just like Harvey said, not only should she not be promoted, she should be fired.

 

[kogase]

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: Harvey
More GARBAGE from lifenews.com. A nurse is not authorized to negate the directions of a physician, PERIOD! If a physician prescribes a "morning after" pill, it is the nurse's responsibility to implement the physicians instructions.

Not only should she not be promoted. She should be FIRED! :|

Are you suggesting that you can only be a health care provider if you agree with killing babies?

You should only be a nurse if you're willing to fulfill your professional obligations. If you don't like it you can quit.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: kogase

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: Harvey
More GARBAGE from lifenews.com. A nurse is not authorized to negate the directions of a physician, PERIOD! :|

Would you include in that statement following the directives of the doctors at Nuremberg?

If the nurses attending Dr. Mengele don't want to follow his directives, they can just fvck right off. Just like this nurse. Seeing as how the morning after pill is legal, and any physician that prescribes it is well within his and his patient's rights, no nurse has the authority to override his directives. Just like Harvey said, not only should she not be promoted, she should be fired.

Doctors have always been thought of as the saviors of mankind, the healers, and caretakers of our utter existence. Even ancient civilizations revered the medicine men as having special power to protect life.The trust of a physician is sacred. This is why the practice of medicine by the doctors of the Third Reich is egregious, outrageous, and shocking. The Nazi doctors violated the trust placed in them by humanity. The most painful truth is for the most part the doctors escaped their crimes against Humanity and lived a life, unlike their victims.

Medical Experiments of the Holocaust and Nazi Medicine

Again, let's look at this quote from the Hippocratic Oath:

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.

So you think a health care provider should be fired for refusing to kill a baby?

 

[kogase]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
So you think a health care provider should be fired for refusing to kill a baby?

If it's legal to kill a baby and the doctor orders it? Yes. Nurses don't get to refuse anything within their professional obligations unless they want to face the same consequences any other person would face for refusing to fulfill his professional obligations. Them's the ropes when you've got a job. Don't like it? Quit.

Edit: You also conveniently ignored jimkyser's post about the Hippo Oath.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: kogase

Originally posted by: Riprorin
So you think a health care provider should be fired for refusing to kill a baby?

If it's legal to kill a baby and the doctor orders it? Yes. Nurses don't get to refuse anything within their professional obligations unless they want to face the same consequences any other person would face for refusing to fulfill his professional obligations. Them's the ropes when you've got a job. Don't like it? Quit.

Edit: You also conveniently ignored jimkyser's post about the Hippo Oath.

She doesn't have to quit. She's protected by 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.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: kogase

Originally posted by: Riprorin
So you think a health care provider should be fired for refusing to kill a baby?

If it's legal to kill a baby and the doctor orders it? Yes. Nurses don't get to refuse anything within their professional obligations unless they want to face the same consequences any other person would face for refusing to fulfill his professional obligations. Them's the ropes when you've got a job. Don't like it? Quit.

Edit: You also conveniently ignored jimkyser's post about the Hippo Oath.

"May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling..."

You don't consider the Classical Hippocratic Oath one of the "finest traditions"?

 

[kogase]

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: kogase

Originally posted by: Riprorin
So you think a health care provider should be fired for refusing to kill a baby?

If it's legal to kill a baby and the doctor orders it? Yes. Nurses don't get to refuse anything within their professional obligations unless they want to face the same consequences any other person would face for refusing to fulfill his professional obligations. Them's the ropes when you've got a job. Don't like it? Quit.

Edit: You also conveniently ignored jimkyser's post about the Hippo Oath.

She doesn't have to quit. She's protected by 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.

No one has to quit. I said she should be fired for refusing to distribute a perfectly legal remedy according to the doctor's instruction. If she thinks that she is going to be put into a position where she will violate her own beliefs, and she can't handle that, she should quit before she has to make such a refusal.

It was gonna take too long to read those acts, but I didn't see how either the first or fourteenth amendments legitamize her refusal.

 

[kogase]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
You don't consider the Classical Hippocratic Oath one of the "finest traditions"?

Not only is that irrelevant, but it is completely subjective.

 

[1EZduzit]

The ACLJ sound worse the ambulance chasers to me.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: kogase

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: Harvey
More GARBAGE from lifenews.com. A nurse is not authorized to negate the directions of a physician, PERIOD! :|

Would you include in that statement following the directives of the doctors at Nuremberg?

If the nurses attending Dr. Mengele don't want to follow his directives, they can just fvck right off. Just like this nurse. Seeing as how the morning after pill is legal, and any physician that prescribes it is well within his and his patient's rights, no nurse has the authority to override his directives. Just like Harvey said, not only should she not be promoted, she should be fired.

I'm going to have to agree. I mean I work in the defense industry and I don't think I'll get by if a suddenly say one day, "You know, my religious beliefs prohibit me from contributing to instruments of war. Can I have a promotion and not do my required work?"

Any what about this?

EIU spokeswoman Vicki Woodard, told the Associated Press that "the reason Andrea Nead was not hired was unrelated to dispensing the morning-after pill.''

 

[jimkyser]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
"May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling..."

You don't consider the Classical Hippocratic Oath one of the "finest traditions"?

If you were to read the information at the link I provided, you will find that no one swears to the classical oath because it's so outdated. Most medical schools DO swear to the modern one, though.

Also, this little quote you used from the classical version:

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.

would pretty much make the use of chemotherapy impossible. Chemo is a VERY DEADLY class of drugs that KILLS off fast growing cells. But, when used properly it actually saves many lives. So which is more important Rip, the classical oath or saving lives? You're all about the sanctity of life, right? Think of all of the little children with childhood Leukemia who would be dead if doctors followed the 'fine tradition' of the classical oath.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: kogase

Originally posted by: Riprorin
So you think a health care provider should be fired for refusing to kill a baby?

If it's legal to kill a baby and the doctor orders it? Yes. Nurses don't get to refuse anything within their professional obligations unless they want to face the same consequences any other person would face for refusing to fulfill his professional obligations. Them's the ropes when you've got a job. Don't like it? Quit.

Edit: You also conveniently ignored jimkyser's post about the Hippo Oath.

She doesn't have to quit. She's protected by 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.

He's got a point there - she's legally protected. I didn't even know that existed in Illinois law. Not really different than protecting bisexuals and crossdressers, also protected under Illinois law.

745 ILCS 30/0.01
Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Abortion Performance Refusal Act.
(Source: P.A. 86-1324.)

(c) Any person, association, partnership or corporation that discriminates against another person in any way, including, but not limited to, hiring, promotion, advancement, transfer, licensing, granting of hospital privileges, or staff appointments, because of that person's refusal to recommend, perform or assist in the performance of an abortion, whether such abortion be a crime or not, shall be answerable in civil damages equal to 3 times the amount of proved damages, but in no case less than $2,000.

I guess all the foaming at the mouth shreiking liberals can wipe the slobber off their sneakers now.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
You don't consider the Classical Hippocratic Oath one of the "finest traditions"?

The Hippocratic Oath applies to doctors. They are licensed to specify medical procedures and pharmaceutical medication.

Nurses are not licensed or otherwise legally recognized as qualified to override or negate the doctor's instructions and directives. It's black letter law.

If this nurse doesn't like what she has to do in the course of performing her duties, she should quit. If she can't do that, she should be fired for insubordination, incompetence or both.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: Riprorin
You don't consider the Classical Hippocratic Oath one of the "finest traditions"?

The Hippocratic Oath applies to doctors. They are licensed to specify medical procedures and pharmaceutical medication.

Nurses are not licensed or otherwise legally recognized as qualified to override or negate the doctor's instructions and directives. It's black letter law.

If this nurse doesn't like what she has to do in the course of performing her duties, she should quit. If she can't do that, she should be fired for insubordination, incompetence or both.

See above post. You're speaking out your dirty orifice about the law in Illinois.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: alchemize
See above post. You're speaking out your dirty orifice about the law in Illinois.

I read the post. My main point was that the Hippocratic Oath applies to licensed MD's, not to nurses. Even the Illinois statute recognizes that the nurse is wrong to refuse to to the job and specifies civil penalties for failure to do so.

And you're welcome to kiss my dirty orfice if you're so inclined. :lips:

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: Riprorin
You don't consider the Classical Hippocratic Oath one of the "finest traditions"?

The Hippocratic Oath applies to doctors. They are licensed to specify medical procedures and pharmaceutical medication.

Nurses are not licensed or otherwise legally recognized as qualified to override or negate the doctor's instructions and directives. It's black letter law.

If this nurse doesn't like what she has to do in the course of performing her duties, she should quit. If she can't do that, she should be fired for insubordination, incompetence or both.

In 1893, Mrs. Lystra E. Gretter and the Farrand Training School for Nurses wrote an adaptation of the physician's Hippocratic Oath for nurses. It was named the Florence Nightingale Pledge in honor of the esteemed founder of nursing.
This pledge is most often recited at graduation/pinning ceremonies for nurses. It is also often included in programs honoring nurses during Nurses Week (May 6-12)or on Nurses Day (May 6). May 12 is the birthdate of Nurse Nightingale..

The Florence Nightingale Pledge
I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.

Link

Same principles, it's just an adaptation.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: Harvey

Originally posted by: alchemize
See above post. You're speaking out your dirty orifice about the law in Illinois.

I read the post. My point was that the Hippocratic Oath applies to licensed MD's, not to nurses. Even the Illinois statute recognizes that the nurse is wrong to refuse to to the job and specifies civil penalties for failure to do so.

And you're welcome to kiss my dirty orfice if you're so inclined. :lips:

Apparently you've decided your head belongs up there now too?

The illinois statute does NOT say a peep about it being "wrong to refuse to do the job". Quite the opposite. It specifies that, and I quote the law again:

No physician, nurse or other person who refuses to recommend, perform or assist in the performance of an abortion, whether such abortion be a crime or not, shall be liable to any person for damages allegedly arising from such refusal.

Try again? Or admit you are wrong and call it a day on this one?

Link to legislation along with other states