A federal judge has ruled in favor of a public university that removed a Christian student from its graduate program in school counseling over her belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. Monday's ruling, according to Julea Ward's attorneys, could result in Christian students across the country being expelled from public university for similar views.
UPDATE 12/10/12: After appeals court supports Julea Ward, Univ. pays her off to end battle and to keep its anti-Christian policies intact
-- From "Anti-gay EMU social-work student loses appeal" by David Ashenfelter, Detroit Free Press Staff Writer 7/27/10
Lawyers for a national religious liberty group said they plan to appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former Eastern Michigan University graduate student who said she was kicked out of a master’s program because she refused on religious grounds to counsel a homosexual client.
“There are aspects of the decision that present appealable issues and we disagree with the court on his conclusions,” David French, a lawyer for Alliance Defense Fund said today.
EMU said it was pleased.
Julea Ward, who lives in Metro Detroit, said she was unfairly removed from the program after she asked that a client be assigned to another counselor. She said her religious views prohibit her from affirming or condoning gay relationships.
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From "Court Upholds Expulsion of Counseling Student Who Opposes Homosexuality" by Todd Starnes, FoxNews.com 7/28/10
U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh dismissed Ward’s lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University. She was removed from the school’s counseling program last year because she refused to counsel homosexual clients.
The university contended she violated school policy and the American Counseling Association code of ethics.
In his 48-page opinion, Judge Steeh said the university had a rational basis for adopting the ACA Code of Ethics.
“Furthermore, the university had a rational basis for requiring students to counsel clients without imposing their personal values,” he wrote in a portion of his ruling posted by The Detroit News. “In the case of Ms. Ward, the university determined that she would never change her behavior and would consistently refuse to counsel clients on matters with which she was personally opposed due to her religious beliefs – including homosexual relationships.”
Ward’s attorneys claim the university told her she would only be allowed to remain in the program if she went through a “remediation” program so that she could “see the error of her ways” and change her belief system about homosexuality.
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From "Judge tosses suit similar to ASU case" by Kyle Martin, Staff Writer, The Augusta Chronicle 7/28/10
A federal judge dismissed a case this week with striking similarities to one filed by an Augusta State University student who claims discrimination because of her biblical beliefs.
The Augusta case was filed last Wednesday by graduate student Jennifer Keeton, 24, who contends her professors want her to a undergo a remediation plan because of her Christian convictions.
Specifically, Keeton has expressed her views both during and outside class that gays, lesbians and transgender people suffer "identity confusion."
In a similar incident last year, an Eastern Michigan University student working toward her master's degree was criticized by her professors for her opinions on homosexuality, according to the Alliance Defense Fund, a faith-based coalition of lawyers.
The Ward case at Eastern Michigan University started shortly after she enrolled in the counseling program. Her professors openly mocked her beliefs and called her a "homophobe" when she expressed her view that homosexuality is wrong, according to the Alliance Defense Fund.
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