<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1662042738011,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-fe9d-da96-ad7d-ffbf8a5c0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1662042738011,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-fe9d-da96-ad7d-ffbf8a5c0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_61970409", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1087729"} }); ","_id":"00000182-f977-d5c1-ad97-fb7f817a0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedA nurse practitioner has sued CVS Health, claiming she was fired for refusing to provide or prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to customers at MinuteClinic facilities, a division of CVS, in Virginia due to her Catholic faith.
Paige Casey alleges she was fired after three years on the job, during which she was granted exemptions from administering abortion drugs, earlier this year after CVS changed its policies and stopped providing accommodations for employees with religious beliefs against abortion-inducing drugs in 2021.
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“Paige had a spotless record of caring for patients, yet CVS decided to abruptly fire her, solely because of her religious belief that life begins at conception. Virginia law protects the freedom of everyone to work without fear of being fired for their religious beliefs prohibiting participation in abortion,” said Denise Harle, director of the Alliance Defending Freedom Center for Life, a nonprofit legal group representing Casey.
Casey, who primarily worked at a MinuteClinic location in Alexandria, claims she was fired in March on the same day she appealed to her supervisors over her objections to the policy change, stating that administering such drugs, including hormonal contraceptives like Plan B, violated her religious belief that life begins at conception.
The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Prince William County Circuit Court, argues that CVS Health violated Virginia’s conscience clause, which prohibits employers from requiring their employees to participate in procedures that will result in abortion if they provide a written statement with their “personal, ethical, moral or religious” objections.
Casey, who was hired in 2018, claims her religious accommodation was granted for nearly three years after submitting a formal request in 2019 — until the company informed employees of the policy change in August 2021.
A spokesman for CVS, Mike DeAngelis, told the Washington Examiner that the company tries to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs but that sexual health services are considered essential functions of nurses and providers.
“As we continue to enhance our MinuteClinic services, 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,” DeAngelis said. “We cannot grant exemptions from these essential MinuteClinic functions.”
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Casey is seeking $100,000 in compensatory damages, such as lost wages, among other monetary awards to go toward legal fees associated with the lawsuit.
