Minnesota Catholic Teacher Refused Abortion but Faced Pregnancy Discrimination 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 13, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A Catholic school teacher in Minnesota has issued allegations of pregnancy discrimination saying the school asked her to resign from her job even though she did not have an abortion. Emily Prigge is 23-years-old and unmarried and, she says school officials asked her to resign after they learned of her pregnancy.
Prigge teaches fifth grade at St. Felix School in Wabasha and says she spoke with the principal about her pregnancy and was applauded for not having an abortion.
"She said that I made the right decision in not having an abortion because that is what the Catholic Church wants," Prigge tells the Post-Bulletin newspaper.
Then, on February 6, Prigge says the principal and a priest met with her and informed her she would have to step down from her position. They told her she had violated a statement she had signed agreeing to be a positive Catholic example in the school.
The Post-Bulletin said school officials would have no comment on the matter and that Prigge is considering legal action.
Pregnancy discrimination has become a more frequent occurrence.
Last December, Jon Peters, the producer of the 2006 movie "Superman Returns," was the subject of an employment discrimination lawsuit two former employees filed against him. One of the women in question says Peters fired her because she was pregnant and refused his suggestion to have an abortion in order to keep her job.
In October, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was accused of fostering a climate of pregnancy discrimination at his financial information company.
And, in August, a judge ruled female employees of Novartis Pharmaceuticals can move ahead with a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit they filed. The employees contend the company discriminated against them for being pregnant and suggested that they should have abortions.
