Jury deliberates in lawsuit against Cincinnati archdiocese over firing of pregnant teacher
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - This is a Dec. 2011 file photo, Christa Dias holds her 11-month-old daughter in her Withamsville, Ohio home. Dias, a teacher who was fired from Catholic schools in 2010 after becoming pregnant through artificial insemination, testified Wednesday,May 29, 2013 in her federal lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati and two schools. She told jurors that she didn't know the procedure violated church doctrine or that she could be fired for it. (AP Photo/The Cincinnati Enquirer, Gary Landers, File) MANDATORY CREDIT; NO SALES (The Associated Press)
A jury has begun deliberations in a teacher's lawsuit alleging the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati violated anti-discrimination laws when it fired her after becoming pregnant through artificial insemination.
An attorney for Christa Dias (DEYE'-us) said during closing arguments Friday that Dias was fired in 2010 solely because she was pregnant and unmarried. Attorney Robert Klingler says the firing violated anti-discrimination laws. He says the jury has a chance to show that the archdiocese isn't above the law.
The attorney representing the archdiocese and two of its schools says Dias had violated Catholic doctrine and her contract. He says if the jury finds in favor of Dias, it would send a message across the country that it's not OK for religious organizations to enforce their own doctrine.