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.
EMU said it was pleased.
“Eastern has a responsibility to the public to exercise careful and deliberate judgment about who should be permitted to graduate from our professional schools and practice in the education and health professions,” said Walter Kraft, EMU vice president of communications. He said the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld such decisions by public universities because courts “should show great respect for the faculty’s professional judgment.”
EMU's lawyer is Mark T. Boonstra of Ann Arbor.
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.