Gay teacher at Marian High School says pregnancy got her fired
By Robert Allen and Katrease Stafford, Detroit Free Press | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
She learned she was pregnant in June, told her employer in July and was fired in mid-August, Webb said. On
Today, Webb told the
"That you can't hide a pregnancy from the public is why I was terminated," she said.
The school's president, Sister
Webb, who has been with her partner,
Webb said the administration gave her a choice between resigning, with health insurance -- but no paychecks or other benefits -- continuing through the spring semester and not discussing what happened or being fired.
"I really felt like resigning was a lie; to me, that was willingly leaving," Webb said, adding that she waited a week and decided to go with getting fired. "I was kind of compelled to just let people know the truth."
"Pregnancy discrimination is flat-out illegal," she said. "There are exemptions for religious institutions. I don't know if she's going to fit into one of them here."
Numerous people spoke in support of Webb and are unhappy with her departure.
"I was shocked -- I was absolutely shocked," said
She said Webb was "inspirational," and her daughter's "best teacher," someone who would be available to help students in early mornings and late afternoons.
"I think the bigger thing everyone is feeling is we have been taught this whole time to live a Christian life and be accepting of people and yet we go and fire one one of our favorite teachers?" Gorman said. "It makes us reconsider and question the time we spent at Marian."
In her Facebook post, Webb implored people to stand up for change.
"My job can't be saved, but the torment that the poor LGBT students at Marian must be feeling, the other LGBT staff, and those that are silenced by fear can be helped," she said, adding "let's be real" and acknowledge lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered students and staff exist at the school.
Hannigan said students knew that Webb is gay, but it wasn't something discussed openly. Webb said that, as an educator, she didn't feel sexual orientation had a place in the classroom.
"I lived a private life at my home, and I didn't feel the need to express that at such a detailed level," she said. "To be honest, I was trying to be discreet."
Gordon said a pregnancy outside of what the Catholic faith prescribes is what would be at issue if Webb's firing ended up a court case.
"The fact that she is gay, as a matter of law, is not going to figure in," Gordon said, but pregnancy outside of wedlock would be argued as a morality issue, even though Webb is in a relationship.
"I would want to know if gender was a factor," Gordon said. "Are there male teachers who have impregnated other people and the male is not married? The problem for the woman is you're visibly pregnant."
In 2006, the school fired campus-safety officer
Webb said she valued her nine years with the school, but this is a human-rights issue.
"This is definitely not a crusade against the school," Webb said of her decision to go public. "This is so much more than me and Marian. It's letting people know what type of social injustice is still happening."
Contact
___
(c)2014 the Detroit Free Press
Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 1041 |
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News