A teacher in a same-sex marriage lost her job at a Catholic high school in Detroit for wanting to start a family. Barbara Webb knew that publicly displaying a lifestyle that violated Catholic doctrine was prohibited, so she asked for a leave of absence during her pregnancy.
But that wasn’t good enough for officials at Marian High School in Bloomfield Hills. They asked Webb to resign, and when she didn’t, they fired her. And unless she kept quiet about what happened, they threatened to end her insurance coverage as well.
However, Webb felt that resigning would be like lying that she had left her job willingly. Her attorney says it’s “flat-out” pregnancy discrimination and illegal.
After all, unmarried male teachers can violate Catholic codes and get away with it - only women are visibly pregnant.
Suing the school is not what Webb is aiming for in telling her story. She wants to expose the injustice that continues in our country. But the least Marian High should do is reinstate Webb and her insurance coverage.
We, the undersigned, say Marian High has no right to fire this teacher over pregnancy.
Attorneys commenting on this case are right in stating that it is sexual discrimination and illegal to fire a woman for being pregnant.
If reports are correct, it is also disingenuous and unethical for the schools to cover Webb’s prenatal and delivery care only if she agreed to resign and keep mum about the school’s demands.
Terminating a woman, for whom it is impossible to hide a pregnancy from the public, also presents the possibility of a double standard, since unmarried males who violate Catholic doctrine by impregnating females do not face the same penalties because their acts can be hidden from the public.
Webb is the one who seems to have taken the high road in this situation. She is a married woman who wants to start a family. She has shown sensitivity and respect for the Catholic faith in requesting a leave during her pregnancy, and she has failed to take a bribe that would violate her own standards of honesty and justice.
Webb deserves to have her job and her insurance coverage reinstated, and we request that Marian High offer to do so immediately.
Thanks for your time.
