Thousands sign petition asking that fired pregnant teacher be rehired

Details from USA TODAY: 

More than 20,000 people from across the USA have called on the Catholic diocese here to reverse its decision to fire an unmarried middle school teacher who is pregnant.

Supporters delivered a petition Thursday to Bishop George Leo Thomas of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, calling the Jan. 10 decision to fire Shaela Evenson of Butte Central Elementary-Junior High School hypocritical.

“Firing an unmarried teacher for becoming pregnant is cruel and hypocritical,” said the petition from Faithful America, a social justice group that says it is dedicated to reclaiming Christianity from the religious right. “Give Shaela Evenson her job back, and start taking Pope Francis’ words about love and healing more seriously.”

The school fired Evenson, a literature and physical education teacher for eight years, after the diocese received an anonymous letter informing administrators that she was having a child out of wedlock. The Catholic Church teaches that sex between a man and a woman is reserved for marriage and condemns abortion a grave evil.

Aaron Viles, Faithful America deputy director, said the organization did not consult Evenson before taking action on her behalf.

“This petition came from the staff of Faithful America,” Viles said Thursday. “We saw her story and were inspired to take action.”

There’s one interesting detail near the end of the story:

Evenson is not Catholic and never has been, her lawyer said.

“Besides being an outstanding educator and an inspiration to her young students, Shaela is in a long-term, committed relationship, said Evenson’s friend who is raising money on gofundme.com, Jen Hensley. “This pregnancy is hard fought and very much wanted.”

In June, in a case Butler described as having “nearly identical” circumstances to Evenson’s firing, a federal jury found the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati discriminated against a Catholic school teacher fired after she became pregnant through artificial insemination.

The jury awarded Christa Dias more than $170,000 in an anti-discrimination lawsuit.Butler’s firm represented Dias in that case.

“These cases are nearly identical. She (Dias) was not Catholic, and she didn’t teach any religion,” Butler said. “She decided to have a child, and when the school found out she was pregnant, she was terminated.”

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