Va. nurse practitioner files lawsuit, says CVS fired her for not providing abortion drugs

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (7News) — A northern Virginia nurse practitioner filed a lawsuit against the CVS drugstore chain after she claims the company fired her for refusing to provide abortion-inducing pills to customers.

Paige Casey filed a lawsuit in Prince William County Virginia Circuit Court against CVS MinuteClinic, according to a news release from Alliance Defending Freedom.

ADF attorneys representing Casey said he's been a licensed nurse practitioner in northern Virginia since 2018, primarily at a facility in Alexandria, and that she "follows the teaching of her Catholic faith, which prohibits her from providing, prescribing, or facilitating the use of any drug, device, or surgical procedure that can cause an abortion, including drugs like certain hormonal contraceptives, Plan B, and Ella."

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The lawsuit alleges that MinuteClinic had previously respected Casey's faith for several years when it came to providing drugs that would induce abortion.

"For three and a half years, CVS respected Casey’s religious beliefs by allowing her to decline to provide or facilitate the use of abortion-inducing drugs," the ADF release stated.

Casey says in January, CVS told her they would no longer accommodate her choice and she says they fire her a few months later.

Read the full lawsuit here or below:

"Corporations like CVS cannot defy the law by firing professionals who want to work consistently with their faith," said ADF Senior Counsel Denise Harle, director of the ADF Center for Life. "Paige had a spotless record of caring for patients, yet CVS decided to abruptly fire her, solely because of her religious belief that life begins at conception. Virginia law protects the freedom of everyone to work without fear of being fired for their religious beliefs prohibiting participation in abortion."

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7News reached out to CVS Health Wednesday night and received the following statement from Spokesperson Mike DeAngelis:

"We have a well-defined process in place for employees to request and be granted a reasonable accommodation due to their religious beliefs, which in some cases can be an exemption from performing certain job functions. It is not possible, however, to grant an accommodation that exempts an employee from performing the essential functions of their job. As we continue to enhance our MinuteClinic services, educating and treating patients regarding sexual health matters - including pregnancy prevention, sexually transmitted infection prevention, screening and treatment, and safer sex practices - have become essential job functions of our providers and nurses. We cannot grant exemptions from these essential MinuteClinic functions."