Teacher fired for work at (planned parenthood) clinic

[Ernesto]

Marie Bain, 50, of Sacramento, who had taught at Loretto High School since August, was dismissed after a student's parent obtained pictures showing Bain escorting people into a Planned Parenthood clinic last spring.
Mitterholzer said teachers working at a Catholic school understand they must follow certain rules.

However, "I think that your personal life is your personal life, and she complied with everything asked from the school in her contract."

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/13717851p-14560246c.html

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. If this were a public school

I would squawk. But a Catholic school? She had to know she was taking her chances.

30 years ago when I first started teaching a student confided to me that she had symptoms that might have been an STD. I took her to my own ob/gyn and paid for it. She had syphillis.

I don't think I'd do that today. That is not to my credit

Well, at least I did it then.

Grannie..mumbling into her wine..rationalizing...rationalizing


IT'S NOT MY FAULT!

[IndianaGreen]

2. The Catholic Church has injected herself into politics

as evidenced by her involvement in political activities against women and LGBT rights. I propose we close down all religious schools because they pose as much a threat to our liberties as the religious schools run by Wahhabis.

We are at war, and they are the enemy!

[TallahasseeGrannie]

4. But the Wahhabis are still open, too.

Besides, they'll just all go to home schooling.

[kestrel91316]

18. LET them home school. Just leaves all the prime spots at top

universities and all the professions to us educated, fact-based folks.

The home schooled can work in the fields and at the fast-food places. That will leave their minds free to contemplate Jeebus morning, noon, and night.

[knitter4democracy]

5. Depends on who runs the schools

The girls school I taught in for two years run by the Ursulines was quite liberal and taught the girls wonderfully. We'd get all sorts of stuff from the students on how we don't need the feminist movement today, and I didn't know anyone, from the principal on down, who didn't quickly attack that kind of thinking.

Frankly, the religious schools I worry most about are the evangelical and fundamentalist ones. I interviewed for a position at a baptist school once, and boy, was that an eye-opening experience. :eyes:

[havocmom]

8. Or at least make them pay taxes on their properties

and holdings.

[VegasWolf]

26. All in the name of the Holy Roly GHOST. nt

[Freddie Stubbs]

55. Fortunately the 1st Amendment prohibits the government

from doing such things. As long as they are not breaking the (inciting violence) they are free to practice their religion.

[saigon68]

58. Its a good thing they came out Strong

Against the Priests who were "COUNSELING" those young boys

[Maat]

24. I think it IS to your credit.

Thanks for helping someone out.

But a teacher definitely could not do that today (or a social worker).

[wicket]

47. Amen to that

:thumbsup:

[nvliberal]

42. Teachers should know that when they take jobs in private schools,

they can be sacked for any reason, and if it's a religious school and not receiving any public money, the school can impose whatever rules it wants.

These schools are in business not just to teach the academics but also religion.

Like the teacher who got canned for removing the American flag in his Catholic school classroom, this person would have no case in a court of law if she sued.

[nibbana]

61. Fired for expressing thier views in the public forum.

So any private employer can fire you for who you voted for...
If you express views with a certain political flair you can be fired...

Is this still the United States you are talking about..

Why give up your freedoms so easily???

[knitter4democracy]

3. It's tough.

Of course, in the diocese where I taught, it was in our health plan that they wouldn't pay for anything that compromised our fertility--even to save our lives. Apparently I was the first to actually read that, because you should've seen everyone's faces at lunch the next day when I read that policy to the other teachers and asked about it. It was a Catholic girls' school, btw, with only about five men on staff.

On the other hand, the peace and justice movement is strong in the schools, and many could see that helping women at Planned Parenthood as in line with that.

I love how they say that it's understood. That was what much of my contracts were like: understood by everyone who'd grown up in the Roman Catholic Church and had taught there for awhile but not actually written down. I'm Eastern Orthodox by way of the Nazarene church (converted after going to Mount Vernon Nazarene College, bastion of dittoheads), so I didn't always know the unwritten rules. I got burned more than once by that.

[Kolesar]

10. the peace and justice movement

Did that mean they did anti-poverty "social justice" work?

[knitter4democracy]

13. Yes.

The girls school I taught in was the one that had Sr. Dorothy Kazel teach there. She was one of the four martyred church women brutally raped and murdered by a SOA-trained squad in El Salvador in 1980. The sisters there keep the fight going and do quite a bit to encourage the teachers and students to work in the peace and justice movement. When I was there, three of us were in a drama group that did a play about the effects of the massacre of El Mozote, and they sent a large contingent every year to the SOA protest.

[Kolesar]

16. Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio--I work about a mile from there.

I lived in another part of Ohio, but that story did get a good amount of coverage in the early 1980s. I recall the Reagan administration stonewalled any investigation into that horrible crime. I have never forgiven the republicans for that: I have never voted for one in two decades. In all fairness, there were democrats who did not do what was necessary to end those horrible wars in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, too.

About a year ago, I saw a flier for a play someone was performing about that story, but by the time I saw the flier, the last performance was over. The play was performed in Lake County. I wonder if they were doing your story.

When I was asking about the peace and justice movement, I was imagining prep school faculty doing work with local people.

[knitter4democracy]

36. I taught at Beaumont.

The students are required to do tons of service hours, and most of them do it by working at soup kitchens, clothing drives, and candy striping at local hospitals and clinics. I had girls who did over 500 service hours by the time they graduated.

The students also have special projects during the year they are required to participate in that don't count for service projects. One year, the seniors decided to do the Race for the Cure because two of our faculty were fighting breast cancer at the time (we lost one of them, but the other, thank God, is still with us). Most of the time, the students choose to do something with a women's shelter or a homeless shelter or raise money for people in El Salvador.

Most of the faculty does quite a bit, too. I didn't know anyone who didn't serve in the community somehow or do something in their church to help the less fortunate. They're an amazing group, that's for sure.

It probably wasn't our play, but they might have written a new one. Some of the troop members are still together, from what I hear. I hope they're still working at keeping the message out there. The worst thing we could do is let everyone forget about their sacrifice.

[Kolesar]

48. My roommate taught physics at Beaumont in 1988.

Then he moved on to another job. I remember him talking about the track team who called themselves "Beaumonsters".

I have encountered social justice activists in various locations during my peace activism and activist training in Cleveland. Thanks for filling me in on what they do.

[knitter4democracy]

53. Yup.

Good track team, too. ;)

[kestrel91316]

19. Isn't "social justice" a BIG no-no in the Catholic church these days??

[knitter4democracy]

37. Not the ones I worked in.

The schools where I taught made sure it was a big part of the curriculum. The school where my daughter goes now also makes sure it's a big part of the curriculum, and it's very much a part of the weekly mass with a weekly canned food drive and offering for the poor. That's the way to start explaining it to the younger grades.

I think it's the bishops and up who are queasy about it, but the local priests and parishes are still carrying on the work.

[kestrel91316]

43. I thought I heard somewhere that the new pope is

extremely opposed to the "social justice" movement........

Maybe I am mistaken. Wouldn't be the first time......

[knitter4democracy]

52. That's what I'm hearing, too.

It's too bad, though. I think he hasn't said it in so many words but pretty much made it clear in the way Popes can.

The Catholics I know will just keep doing the work anyway and keep their heads down.

[alphadog]

56. Not quite

It's not the social justice movement per se that the Church is opposed to -- it's Liberation Theology which combines social justice with a Marxist slant.

[iamjoy]

40. Vague Morals Clauses

those are the unwritten rules.
There is probably something in the contract about acting in a moral way. Well, what is moral? Sometimes that is gray.

But, I have to agree, for a Catholic, helping women go to a clinic known for providing services frowned upon by the Church would be contrary to Catholic teachings and thus, in their view, immoral.

There was a teacher in Seminole County Florida who had a bit too much to drink at a a Superbowl party and flashed her breasts. Some one snapped a picture and e-mailed it to the Superintendent, the School Board and her Principal. She got fired. Morals and all that. This was public school (added on edit)

[Momgonepostal]

6. I think the contract is the key

Without seeing the exact wording, I'd have to withhold judgement. To me if she's met the guidelines of her contract, I don't see how they can spring surprise new rules on her.

[deadparrot]

7. Depends on the contract, really.

As stupid as it is, speaking as a product of 12 years of Catholic education and the daughter of two teachers (both of whom teach/have taught at Catholic schools), there probably is something in the contract that applies to this situation.

[knitter4democracy]

14. There might not be, though.

They said it was understood, but that might not mean that it's in writing. There were several parts to my job that weren't in writing when I taught in Catholic high schools.

[deadparrot]

15. Like I said, who knows?

It really depends on the contract. If there was something included in the contract, then I can't really defend her, no matter how much I disagree with the school's philosophy. I know that the teachers at my Catholic HS were not allowed to teach or act contrart to the RCC's stated beliefs on issues.

If, however, there was no such clause in the contract, then I think she does have a case.

[donco6]

9. Again, working for a private school.

They have the right to dictate a code of ethics - especially a religious school. The teacher was, well, a little naive.

[ticapnews]

11. How do they know WHY she was taking people to Planned Parenthood?

Planned Parenthood does a lot more than perform abortions. They provide annual exams, cancer screenings, complete physical exams (including exams for athletes), STD testing and counseling. How do they know she wasn't escorting girls to their first breast exam or a physical? If it is explained in the story I apologize, but the story is password protected and I don't like cookies :P

[uppityperson]

12. But, you see, planning to not get pregnant encourages random sex

Giving people information so they won't get pregnant is encouraging them to have sex. And a breast exam and physical? She should be a good girl and get them at her local family doctor, not let some stranger touch her. I mean, really. :sarcasm:

It is tough, dealing with some sorts of people. Planned Parenthood does MUCH MUCH MORE than abortions, abortions are the small bit of what they do. Prevention is highly encouraged. argh argh argh.

[kestrel91316]

20. I went to Planned Parenthood for years. I got my annual gyn exam

there because it was a lot cheaper than going to a regular doctor (I had no insurance). I got my prescription for birth control pills from them.

Never got an abortion there. Never got one anywhere else. 30 years of PROTECTED sex, and never an unwanted pregnancy. But it sure was nice to know they were there, just in case the pill failed.

[uppityperson]

23. I used and worked at PP and Family Planning for many yrs

It was really nice to be able to. I volunteered at PP, managed a FP clinic for a while and also worked for a gyn doctor too doing various things. I want to beat my head against a wall when I hear someone say "being prepared means you are encouraging them to have sex". And the gvt cutting funding for prevention programs because argh argh argh.

We served lots of women, of all ages. I liked going there for my checkups because the providers there were empathetic.

[iamjoy]

39. But Birth Control Is A No-No

if you strictly follow Catholic teachings.

And the sad thing is, Planned Parenthood does do well woman exams for women w/o health insurance, but most people associate Planned Parenthood with birth control & abortion.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

28. I would assume

the girls were under 18 and we teachers can't even use Bactine under a bandaide without parental permission. And that doesn't even get into their driving in our cars! (I teach in a public school.)

[kestrel91316]

17. Next: Firing people because they belong to the Democratic Party.

[Conservativesux]

29. That has happened before: Repug employers frown on Dem bumper stickers

and you run the risk of losing your job at many places, if you get too political.

[kestrel91316]

30. Well, I am an employer (fewer than 10 empl) and two can play at

that little game. I don't have to fire people who are Christofascists or Freepers, I have a pretty good sense about these things and seem never to hire them in the first place.

:evilgrin:

[LostinVA]

34. That one lady who worked at a factory was fired for a Kerry

Bumper Sticker last year. Was it Alabama? Kerry gave her a temp job with his campaign.

[HockeyMom]

21. They tired to fire two teachers at a Catholic HS here

The first for getting a divorce and the second for getting a VASECTOMY. How they found about the the latter, I don't know.

The students walked out in protest and the PARENTS protested by refusing to pay their tuition until the teachers were reinstated. As one parent said, "If they expelled every student whose parents were either divorced or practiced BIRTH CONTROL, there would be nobody here."

The school reinstated the teachers. MONEY and BAD PUBLICITY talks.

[Maat]

25. Yahoo for those parents!

They rock(ed)!!!

[LibDemAlways]

27. They fired someone for getting a divorce?

I taught at a Catholic school 25 years ago and even back then, probably a third of the students' parents were divorced. As for birth control, Catholics are no different from everybody else. What a crock. I'm glad the teachers were reinstated, only I can't imagine sticking around after being fired by a bunch of hypocritical morons.

[knitter4democracy]

38. I can.

The girls school I taught in had two teachers who they'd tried to fire a few years before I got there. They were in the religion department, and they'd tried to cover sex ed in their classes with seniors. It was very low key, they'd never had any trouble before, and they didn't even say that kids had to use birth control but just raised it as a question. Needless to say, though, word somehow got out to the local Opus Dei chapter, and they pressured the school to fire the two teachers.

When that happened, all heck broke loose. The kids protested, the parents stormed the school and the board meetings, demanding that the teachers be re-hired, and other teachers said they'd quit too if the two teachers weren't reinstated with no penalties.

When it finally got out that Opus Dei was behind it all in order to pretty much take over the school and make it one of theirs, the board rehired the teachers and told Opus Dei to take a hike. They're all still nervous, though, as Opus Dei even got to one of the religion teachers (who was then fired when it was found that he was teaching pre-Vatican II theology instead of the school theology curriculum).

The two teachers in question, though, were still nervous when I was hired and even changed some of their materials and curriculum because of it. They always felt they were still targets and were careful whom they talked with and what they said in class.

[alphadog]

57. Seems highly unlikely

since "divorce" isn't the problem with Catholics. It's remarriage after divorce when no annulment has been granted.

[LeftyMom]

22. Is there any plan to protest this?

If so I'd be happy to get involved, I live very close by.

[MaryBear]

31. Seems reasonable to me.

Although I don't agree with the Catholic Church's point of view, I sure wouldn't assume I could publicly support Planned Parenthood and still teach at a Catholic high school!

Please let's do be careful about Catholic bashing, BTW. Some great theologians and moral thinkers have come out of catholicism, and some are still there.

Although this Pope seems determined to make that church monolithic in thought and action, it is not there yet. Lots of varied points of view within it.

[LisaL]

41. Escorting someone to Planned Parenthood and publicly supporting

it is not the same thing. It's not like she organized a rally in support of Planned Parenthood. Do they even know why she escorted someone to Planned Parenthood? It's not like they only perform abortions.

[MaryBear]

44. To me, escorting implies escorting past protesters.

It is a public stance that is in opposition to what the school teaches. I would not want my child taught by someone who publicly protests outside Planned Parenthood and I would not want that person teaching at a private school I choose because of its values. Same thing in reverse. How can anyone pretend to claim that Planned Parenthood is in alignment with the Catholic Church on birth control, choice, etc.? This is a non-issue to me.

Now, if it happened to a public school teacher, I'd be jumping up and down and doing whatever I could to support the teacher. But this is different.

[LisaL]

50. She did it in her free time.

I imagine someone can have certain beliefs, and still teach in a catholic school, as long as those beliefs are kept private. Whatever she did in her free time shouldn't affect her ability to teach at the school.

[WCGreen]

32. This is where the faith based initiates come up against

civil rights...

If that school was receiving any kind of state or federal aide, then the dismissed teacher has a case.....

Funding such as piggy backing on the public school bus system...

You could even argue that since they are receiving a tax break, they are, indeed, subject to any discrimination law on the books...

[LeftyMom]

33. They don't use the public bus system

They share buses with the nearby all-boys Catholic high school but most of the girls appear to be dropped off in thier parents yuppiemobiles.

There are two Catholic girls high schools in town, Loretto is definitely the snobby monied one.

[WCGreen]

35. Well, there are other ways to prove they are subsidized...

Like the tax breaks they receive.....

[Bozita]

45. Fed court ruled teachers in Catholic schools had no right to organize ...

... a union. The Archdiocese of Chicago had no obligation to recognize this civil right.

This happened a few years ago. I would assume they feel that they are also immune from wrongful discharge suits.

[arwalden]

46. Is She Catholic Church's Chattel?

[NNguyenMD]

49. how about the school dismiss all individuals associated with the military

Isn't the Catholic church against illegal wars too? Or how about anyone who is receiving voucher money from a state the still implements the death penalty. No no no, they should dismiss all childnre of parents who work on the Sabaath, taht will send a clear message...give me a break

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

51. She ceased her work with PP

Before she took the job at Loretto. Bishop Weigand is well-known to be very conservative, having ruled the Salt Lake City diocese before he took over Sacramento from Arden Bell. Weigand went too far, in my opinion, in his haste to please Pope Rotweiler.

side note - Loretto may be the more snobby than St. Francis, but not by much - it is a pretty privileged subculture they exist in. On the other hand, for a not-at all-snobby Catholic high school with a GREAT college-prep program, Christian Brothers, across town in the heart of Oak Park, is world class and coed.

[Hobarticus]

54. Why not just settle now, and spare themselves the lawsuit?

If she signed a contract, and that's not in there, they're boned.

Hope it was worth it.

[mth44sc]

59. more of the same...

Catholic Diocese Pulls Support from Race for the Cure

AP
Tuesday, October 18, 2005


CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston and Bishop England High School have broken ties to Saturday's Race for the Cure. They made the decision because the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation gives money to Planned Parenthood in other cities.

<snip>

http://www.wcbd.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WCBD/MGArticle/CBD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767607073

[noonwitch]

60. It all depends on how her contract is worded

If the contract doesn't specify that she is not to participate in activities like escorting women to abortion clinics, then they can fire her. If not, then they can't. The church is still free to excommunicate her and the school can refuse to renew her contract the next time it is due.

If she signed a contract that specified she wouldn't engage in this type of activity, then they can fire her.