First Liberty Institute has provided free legal counsel for Robyn Strader, a former CVS MinuteClinic nurse practitioner in Texas who objects to prescribing certain contraceptives on religious grounds.
"We're talking about all sorts of hormonal contraceptives," says attorney and spokeswoman Stephanie Taub. "She believes that these drugs could end the life of an unborn child by preventing the conception of a fertilized egg, the implantation of a fertilized egg."
CVS accommodated Strader for six years and a half by letting her refer hormonal contraception requests to another provider at the clinic. But her employer stopped protecting her religious freedom in 2021, and she filed a lawsuit in 2023.
Now, CVS has settled the out of court. The terms were not made public.
As First Liberty is representing another nurse practitioner out of Florida whose similar religious accommodation was taken away, Taub hopes Strader's case will send a solid message to employers throughout the country.
"We're really encouraging employers to take that case to heart and really respect the religious beliefs of workers and provide reasonable accommodation under the legal standard," says Taub.
That standard, she points out, is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
