Why this doctor is suing for the right to speak her conscience on abortion – Vox
But about a week after the November 27 Colorado Springs attack, Horvath-Cosper says the chief medical officer of the hospital where she works called her into a meeting. He said she had to stop her public advocacy for abortion, because he didn’t want to “put a Kmart blue-light special on the fact that we provide abortions at MedStar.”
Horvath-Cosper, 37, had never dealt with anything like this before, she told Vox in an interview. (The hospital didn’t return a request for comment.) She knew nothing about employment law or anything like that. But when her department chair passed on advice from the chief medical officer that she shouldn’t hire an attorney because it would be seen as an “aggressive move,” she decided it was probably time to hire an attorney.
And, as the New York Times first reported Monday, she ended up filing a civil rights complaint against her employer for violating a law that was originally intended to protect doctors who oppose abortion. She argues the law also protects her right to speak out in favor of it.
From: Why this doctor is suing for the right to speak her conscience on abortion – Vox
This is an interesting case. It would seem to me that, if the hospital can demonstrate that her advocacy interferes with the ability of the hospital to perform its function (which making it a target for attacks would certainly seem to qualify), then restricting her speech might be warranted. It doesn’t strike me that this is a political speech matter… but maybe I’m missing something.Report
You need to be able to demonstrate harm, I think.
Which means actual death threats, and actual need to hire MORE security.
I remind you that people do shoot up hospitals, and not always because of abortion.Report
If I were an anti-abortion legislator, I’d be plenty nervous about harms that thin. After all, the harm case is easier the other way (every turned-away abortion is revenue the hospital lost).Report