Paige Casey received a merit-based raise just days before she was fired from her job at the Del Ray MinuteClinic in Alexandria. For more than three years, the Catholic nurse practitioner received an accommodation that allowed her to do her job without providing abortion-inducing drugs to customers. But this year, CVS Health said Casey’s religious convictions were incompatible with her job duties. On Casey’s behalf, Alliance Defending Freedom is suing MinuteClinic, alleging discriminatory behavior.
“Major corporations cannot fire health care professionals who want to work consistently with their convictions,” Casey, an Arlington diocese parishioner said in a statement. “CVS’s actions were unjust, and I hope that this case will prevent them from forcing health care professionals to act against their religious, moral and ethical beliefs.”
Virginia law says that “any person who shall state in writing an objection to abortion on personal, ethical, moral or religious grounds shall not be required to participate in procedures which will result in (an) abortion.”
In early 2019, Casey did just that by filing a religious exemption form with CVS. She specifically stated that as a practicing Roman Catholic she could not prescribe a drug that is capable of preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg, which includes drugs such as Plan B and Ella and certain hormonal contraceptives.
In August of 2021, CVS announced in a town hall meeting that they would no longer accommodate employees with religious convictions against prescribing abortifacients. In January 2022, CVS informed Casey her religious exemption was no longer accepted, and a few months later she was fired.
In a statement, CVS spokesman Mike DeAngelis said that providing those types of drugs is a vital part of the employee’s job and that the drugs do not cause abortions. “It is not possible to grant an accommodation that exempts an employee from performing the essential functions of their job,” he stated. “MinuteClinic does not provide abortion care or services, but educating and treating patients regarding sexual health matters — including pregnancy prevention, sexually transmitted infection prevention, screening and treatment, and safer sex practices — have become essential job functions of our providers and nurses. We cannot grant exemptions from these essential MinuteClinic functions unless we are required to do so under certain state laws.”
Kevin Theriot, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, disagrees. “The law is very clear. If an employer is requiring someone to participate in an abortion in any way, that is in violation of Virginia law,” he said. “And for them to say abortion-causing drugs like Plan B and Ella (don’t cause) an abortion, that’s ridiculous in view of the fact that the vast majority of abortions now are done through chemical abortion.”
At a time when the nation’s health care system is so stressed, dedicated professionals like Casey are greatly needed, said Theriot. Yet her situation is not uncommon across the country. “Of course medical professionals shouldn’t be forced to violate their faith in order to continue to work, and there are plenty of laws that protect them, but we’re seeing more and more medical employers requiring medical professionals to violate their faith in order to continue to work,” said Theriot.
Her dismissal was totally unnecessary, said Theriot. “They accommodated Paige for three and a half years, she had a spotless record and there is absolutely no reason that they could not continue to accommodate her and others like her,” he said. “There was no problem until they decided to change their policy, and that clearly violates the law.”
The lawsuit, Casey v. MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Virginia, was filed in Prince William County Circuit Court.
