After trying for five years to become pregnant, Kelly Romenesko and her husband, both of whom had fertility problems, decided to use IVF (in vitro fertilization). A middle- and high- school French teacher, Kelly asked the Catholic school where she’d worked for nearly six years for a few days off to complete the treatment. The IVF was a success, and a few weeks later Kelly informed her school administration that she was pregnant. Two days later she was called into the superintendent’s office and fired on the spot. By using IVF to conceive her child, Kelly, now 39, had violated her teaching contract, in which she agreed to uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church.

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