An Illinois circuit court ruled in favor of a nurse who lost her job for objecting to abortion procedures because of her Catholic faith.
According to the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Sandra Rojas was wrongfully forced out of her job for declining to assist with abortions or contraceptives. Rojas had sought protection under the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, claiming she had the right to object to acts breaching her religious conscience.
“When one member of a team of employees makes an objection of conscience to performing a minority of her job duties,” the court wrote in its holding, “the employer should be required to accommodate the employee in her present position if doing so does not unreasonably compromise the employer’s operations.”
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Rojas had previously worked as a pediatric nurse in the Winnebago County Health Department for 18 years. When the department combined its pediatric clinic with a woman’s health clinic in 2015, Rojas objected, arguing the new requirements to refer women to abortion clinics breached her Catholic beliefs.
According to the initial complaint, the clinic officials initially honored Rojas’s objections by offering her a new role outside the clinic. Rojas declined the job offers and resigned, a decision that cost her $18,000 in salary and $213,000 in pension benefits.
In 2016, Rojas sued the county health department, citing the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act and Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Now, the court has ruled in favor of Rojas. Judge Eugene G. Doherty of the 17th Judicial Circuit Court ruled on Oct. 25 that the health department violated Rojas’s rights and that the case presents “legitimate interests in conflict.” Doherty concluded that “the Health Department could have reasonably accommodated Plaintiff’s objections without removing her from her job.”
However, the judge decided that by declining the job offers, the nurse “failed to mitigate her damages,” limiting how much the court could award her. Rojas received $2,500 in damages.
“The court’s decision is a win for all health care professionals throughout Illinois,” Noel Sterett, Rojas’s lawyer, noted in a press release. “Healthcare professionals should not be required to violate their conscience to keep their jobs.”
Sterett is part of a coalition of lawyers allied with Alliance Defending Freedom. The Christian legal organization acted as co-counsel in Rojas’s case.
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Illinois lawmakers recently amended the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act after medical residents used the policy to object to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The updated version will allow employers to require workers to comply with the mandates.
Illinois Gov J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign the update into law in the immediate future. Pritzker thanked the Democratic lawmakers in the Illinois Legislature, saying they “affirm that the Health Care Right of Conscience Act was never meant to put vulnerable people in harm’s way. This legislation clarifies existing law’s intent without infringing on federal protections.”
