Lawsuit seeks apology for counselor's demands
A witness has been found who supports the claim by a 12-year-old girl that a school counselor in Nevada City, Calif., forced her to take a pregnancy test after hearing rumors she might be pregnant, according to a law firm working on the case.
WND reported in February on the civil rights case filed by the Pacific Justice Institute against the Nevada City School District.
The organization took the action after failing to obtain an apology from the district for the counselor's actions in requiring the test without the consent from the girl's parents – or even their knowledge.
"Parents have enough to worry about with sex education being taught in public schools without now having to wonder whether their daughters will be forced to take pregnancy tests," Pacific Justice President Brad Dacus said at the time. "This was a clear breach of parental trust."
The case alleges the school counselor demanded that C.R., as she is being referred to in court documents in order to maintain her privacy, take a pregnancy test after hearing rumor that she might be pregnant. Even though C.R. denied that she was pregnant, claiming that false rumors had been spread about her in the past, her word was not good enough.
"Instead of accepting C.R.'s denial, or contacting her parents, the counselor got a pregnancy test from the school nurse and ordered C.R. into a bathroom to give a urine sample. Feeling that she did not have a choice, C.R. reluctantly complied," the Pacific Justice Institute said.
The test results came back negative, however C.R. was embarrassed and humiliated.
When the girl later told her parents about the incident, they were livid and eventually contacted Troy Vahidi, an affiliate attorney with Pacific Justice.
"The school counselor had no right to force an emotionally fragile 12-year-old to take a pregnancy test," Vahidi said. "She was humiliated, and her privacy rights were trampled. Every minor has the right to make sensitive decisions such as taking a pregnancy test in consultation with her parents and medical providers."
School spokesman Roger Steel told WND the school denied the allegations as without merit and never has had pregnancy tests on campus.
The law firm said, however, that during a deposition another student verified the claims by C.R. She said she was present in the school office on the day that C.R. was forced to take the test. She claims that the counselor told her that he had tested C.R., but that the results came back negative.
The firm also said there is evidence in this case backing the claim that another student at the school also was forced to take a pregnancy test.
The case is scheduled for trial in March of next year.
Pacific Justice Institute staff attorney Matthew McReynolds attended the deposition and concluded, "We felt the evidence in this case is compelling, and last week's testimony by a former classmate with no stake in this lawsuit confirms our suspicions. We are also concerned that there may be more victims who have yet to come forward."
Dacus said, "This case could have been quickly resolved at the outset with a simple apology and policy change. Since the school district has chosen to deny any wrongdoing, we will continue to fight to ensure that what happened to this 12-year-old girl never happens again in this or any other California school district."
Contact: Kathleen Farah
Source: WorldNetDaily
Publish Date: October 20, 2009
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