Associated Press - May 21, 2009 5:54 AM ET
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Louisiana Supreme Court has declined to hear a hospital's appeal in a case brought by a nurse who claims she was demoted after she refused to dispense the "morning-after" pill.
A state judge refused in 2007 to throw out Toni Lemly's lawsuit against St. Tammany Parish Hospital. The hospital appealed, but the Supreme Court declined Friday to review the judge's ruling.
The hospital hired Lemly in 2003 to work in its Community Wellness Center. Several months later, the hospital contracted with the state to provide counseling to patients about emergency contraception.
The hospital offered Lemly a part-time position after she objected to distributing the morning-after pill, but she turned down the offer and sued, alleging religious discrimination.
A lawyer for Lemly says the Supreme Court's decision clears the way for a trial.
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