A Dallas-area Christian school faces a possible lawsuit from a volleyball coach who was fired for getting pregnant out of wedlock, WFAA-TV reported.
Cathy Samford, 29, was the girl's volleyball coach at Heritage Christian Academy for three years and had recently begun teaching science classes.
The school acknowledges firing Samford last fall after she got pregnant out of wedlock, but says it was within its legal right to do so as a private, religious institution.
"The Supreme Court, as a matter of fact in the last month, has ruled 9-to-0 that a Christian school does have that right, because this is a ministry, so we have the right to have standards of conduct," said Dr. Ron Taylor, the school's headmaster.
Taylor said Samford violated the morals clause in her contract, and that the school considers its teachers to be ministers.
With the dispute unresolved through mediation and the school refusing to settle, Samford is considering legal action.
"You can't discriminate against someone who's pregnant or has a pregnancy-related medical condition. That is both state and federal law," said her attorney, Colin Walsh.
Samford, who believes her dismissal was "not necessarily the Christian thing to do to," said she is facing financial problems and now may have to give birth without medical insurance.
