The Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, and the Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford appealed a federal district court’s dismissal of their challenge to an Illinois law that bans “discrimination on the basis of reproductive health decisions in employment.”
The law thus compels Catholic and pro-life organizations to retain employees who have abortions.
“Our employees represent the diocese and are expected to uphold our standards of conduct to ensure they align with the doctrine and moral teaching of the Catholic Church,” said Bishop Thomas Paprocki. “However, under the state law, we cannot hire or retain employees based on our deeply held religious beliefs on pro-life teachings without being subject to disciplinary action.”