Pregnant teacher loses fight for job

NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- A federal judge has ruled that a Seventh-Day Adventist school in New York has the right to fire a teacher who became pregnant out of wedlock.

U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry in Brooklyn found that the teacher, Jewel Redhead, was more like a member of the clergy than a teacher, the New York Post reported. Irizarry, who issued her ruling Monday, said that Redhead was supposed to bring religion into all subjects she taught at a religious school in Queens..

Under the First Amendment, religious groups can set their own standards for clergy and do not have to obey non-discrimination laws that interfere with their beliefs.

The teacher said that she plans to appeal the ruling.

"I'm more adamant in my stance that the church was wrong in the way they treated me," Redhead said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International