By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer

A Catholic nurse who was forced to participate in a gruesome late-term abortion under the threat of losing her job filed a lawsuit against the hospital this week.

According to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a group of Christian attorneys who is representing the claimant, administrators at Mount Sinai Hospital threatened senior nurse Cathy Cenzon-DeCarlo with disciplinary measures if she did not honor a last-minute summons to assist in a scheduled late-term abortion.

Cenzon-DeCarlo is a Catholic and says the hospital has known about her religious objections to such procedures since 2004.

Not only was she forced to assist and watch the doctor remove the bloody arms and legs from the 22 week-old baby, she was later made to treat the body parts and bring them to the specimen room.

“Pro-life nurses shouldn’t be forced to assist in abortions against their beliefs,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman.  “Requiring a devout, Catholic nurse to participate in a late-term abortion in order to remain employed is illegal, unethical, and violates her rights of conscience.  Federal law requires that employers who receive funding from tax dollars must not compel employees to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs, but this nurse’s objections fell on deaf ears.”

ADF attorneys filed a complaint on July 21 with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. They are also requesting a preliminary injunction that would order the hospital to honor Cenzon-DeCarlo’s religious objection against assisting in abortion and refrain from retaliation against her while the case moves forward.

“Chasing away workers from the health care field is disastrous health care policy,” said Bowman.  “An individual’s conscience is likely what brought them to the health care field.  Denying or coercing their conscience will likely drive them right out.”

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