Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Nurse Files State Claims After Being Required To Assist In Abortion
As previously reported, last July a nurse at New York's Mt. Sinai Hospital filed a federal lawsuit claiming her conscience rights, protected by federal law, were violated when she was required to assist in an abortion performed on a woman who was 22-weeks pregnant. On Friday, the nurse filed a second lawsuit in New York state court based on state law. The complaint (full text) in Cenzon-Decarlo v. Mt. Sinai Hospital, (NY Kings Co. Sup. Ct., filed 4/30/2010), alleges religious discrimination and infringement of free exercise rights in violation of the New York state constitution. It also alleges discriminatory employment practices and a hostile work environment in violation of New York statutes, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress. Alliance Defense Fund issued a release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.