INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, December 1, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — A former Planned Parenthood worker is suing the abortion business because she says she was denied medical leave for cervical cancer.
Angela Brown, who worked for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky, claims the abortion advocate “intentionally and willfully discriminated against” her after she was diagnosed in 2016. She filed a legal complaint on Monday.
Brown began working for the abortion provider in September 2013. Three years into her job, Brown was diagnosed with cervical cancer and began treatment.
At that point, she says the abortion organization made her employment more difficult. She contends that she was discriminated against because of her disability.
“There’s an assumption that when you treat women with those issues, you’d be sympathetic to those issues,” Heather Falks, an attorney representing Brown, told The Indianapolis Star.
Among other complaints, Brown says Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky rejected her requests for medical leave for necessary biopsies. She claims she was repeatedly not allowed to use Family and Medical Leave Act time off for cancer care appointments.
The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires large employers to provide unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons, without employee fear of losing his or her job.
The day before one biopsy operation, Brown called in sick because of “pain and bleeding associated with her disability,” her complaint states. Her employer texted her back, demanding, “You will not take off without a valid reason.”
Then Brown was fired without cause, she claims.
“This is retaliation for an employee who was seeking leave,” Falks concluded.
Falks said the whole episode was “upsetting” to Brown. Her federal lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Indiana, seeks lost wages, punitive damages, and either her job back monetary compensation.
Planned Parenthood refused to comment, saying the matter was “pending litigation” and “personnel issues.”
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Indiana and Kentucky is the advocacy branch of the twin-state Planned Parenthood.