Teacher sues Catholic school that fired her over abortion ad

Published: 2003-11-19

WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- A federal lawsuit claiming that a Catholic school in Wilmington wrongfully fired a teacher who publicly supported legal abortion is "a regrettable attack on the institution's religious freedom and is wholly without merit," the school's attorney said. The suit "represents an attack on the fundamental constitutional rights of religious institutions everywhere to instill the values and teachings of the religion they choose to practice," said Ursuline Academy attorney Barry Willoughby. Former Ursuline teacher Michele Curay-Cramer filed the lawsuit in federal court Nov. 7. She claimed the academy illegally fired her over her public support for keeping abortion legal and because she is a woman. She claims if she had been a man she would not have been fired. Curay-Cramer taught English and religion in Ursuline's middle school for 18 months before she was dismissed last January because she put her name on an advertisement in support of legal abortion.

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