After Harmony Daws, of Oregon, was nominated president of a pro-life group, her boss decided to fire her from her job at a cleaning business because of her work as an activist.
Daws informed her boss at Sparkling Palaces, a local cleaning business in Portland, that she had recently been named president of Oregon Right To Life. Afterwards, her boss became “cold and distant” for the next week and a half, ORTL said in a statement. She ultimately fired Daws, saying that being pro-life caused Daws to discriminate against other employees.
As an employee who herself hired and fired people for the company, Daws says she never made hiring or firing decisions based on an employee’s abortion beliefs.
“Cleaning is the most neutral thing there is,” Daws said. “You can do it with anybody for anybody.”
In a statement issued by Oregon Right To Life, Daws said that her own termination was illegal.
She wrote:
Firing someone based on their religious or political beliefs is a civil rights violation. I’m a libertarian and I support my former employer’s right to hire and fire as she chooses. However, she could have asked for a resignation over our difference of beliefs. To have been mistreated as I was by being fired, after my exemplary record as an employee, was unconscionable. Regardless, had I known then what the price to accept the presidency would be, I would still have accepted the position. Fifty-eight million children have lost their lives since 1973. Losing a job in my stand for their right to life was a small price to pay.
Going forward, Daws said she plans to start her own business. “That way, I won’t have to hide my faith or fear the consequences of my political activity,” she said.
