Another example of the religious war on science

[yoda55]

Christina Dias, a computer science teacher at a catholic school, was fired when the staff discovered that she was receiving IVF treatment in order to have a child. She was called to the Bishop's office, and had to hear this allegedly celibate man who doesn't know the first thing about having or wanting a family, shout at her and call her a sinner. He told her she was a "grave and immoral sinner" who would go to hell for wanting to have a child when God didn't want her to have one. She was fired even though her position at the school has nothing to do with religion and does not require her to teach religious doctrine.

He could have handled it differently... but one cannot automatically fault the employer, for upholding any conditions of employment which are consistent with a parochial school's operating rules. First, find out what her contract said...

Apparently the Catholic church believes IVF is murder because some embryos may be destroyed in the process. We are talking about a bunch of cells here, not even a fetus. A bunch of cells that would never develop into anything unless they are implanted into a woman. Thankfully Mrs. Dias has a mind of her own, continued the treatment, and now has an evil child due to the product of sin (according to church beliefs.) Now she is suing the church and has been given the go ahead for her lawsuit to proceed to federal court.

As American society proceeds, religiously-devoid morality will necessarily have to be developed to identify when "life" begins. A collection of cells (zygote) orginating from a fertilized human ovum are genetically coded to be a human being. It will not develop into a bird, a fish, or a rhinoceros. It will only develop into a human being. Murder (as defined in Webster's) is: "the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought", for whatever reason. Even though children are not adults (in the eyes of the law), they are afforded protections against violence. If (human) "life" is going to be treated as primary in the law, then it must be protected at whatever stage it is manifest.

Why does the catholic church hate science? Why is it evil for an infertile woman to not accept that this is "what God wants" and trust science to give her a chance at having a family? This is the same church that goes around Africa telling people that condoms cause AIDS. The Catholic church has a long history of hating science, and now they want to intrude into your ability to make medical decisions on your own. Should the church be able to get away with controlling people's personal decisions when it comes to medical treatment? Do you think the church is justified in firing this woman and telling her that her desire to want a family are the acts of a dirty sinner who is going to hell?

You've broached questions which, again, must be examined in light of the contract she signed (and the caveats which were explained as condition of employment). If she is a teacher, then she is an example to whom impressionable children will look. Those people in authority positions over them should be above reproach. If a child is sent to a parochial school, to learn in a manner through which they will understand and reinforce lessons used in the home, then a parent has a right to expect that poor/inconsistent role models will be minimized in the classroom environment... A person seeking employment should be expected to adhere to the operating rules the employer sets in place... The Catholic school administrators should have hired someone who is Catholic or holds their tenets as prime.