After he expressed negative views about homosexuality, Dr. Paul Church said he was stunned when he suddenly received a notice from management last March relieving him of his job at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, which is a Harvard-affiliated hospital.
Church, who is an urologist, said he was informed by hospital management that his views about homosexuality bordered on "discrimination," "harassment," and "unprofessional conduct," and that the Bible verses he used to define homosexuality were similarly "offensive," Charisma News reported.
Richard Mast, a Liberty Counsel attorney representing Church, said his client has the right to voice out his thoughts because of religious freedom.
"Dr. Church was censured and subjected to disciplinary action for stating an objection on medical and religious grounds to the promotion of homosexuality," he said.
The hospital ordered his expulsion last March and then denied him a chance to appeal earlier this month.
The issue cropped several years ago when Church made some comments on a BIDMC communication server. "The evidence is irrefutable that behaviours common within the homosexual community are unhealthy and high risk for a host of serious medical consequences, including STD's, HIV and AIDS, anal cancer, hepatitis, parasitic intestinal infections, and psychiatric disorders," Church reportedly wrote.
"Life expectancy is significantly decreased as a result of HIV/AIDS, complications from the other health problems, and suicide. This alone should make it reprehensible to the medical community, who has an obligation to promote and model healthy behaviours and lifestyles," he added.
Mast said Church has the right to air his views and should not have been discriminated against his faith. Just because an act is legal, such as abortion and gay marriage, that still doesn't make it moral, the lawyer said.
"This needs to be a wake-up call for America," Mast said. "What we see being enacted in corporate America is vague terms like labelling something 'offensive' is grounds for being fired. We're seeing de-legitimised expressions of religious beliefs. Rather than disagreeing with ideas, [corporate America] is characterising the expression of a Christian worldview as offensive, hateful and hurtful, effectively enacting gag orders across corporate America for religious beliefs."
