Lawsuit Alleges: Get An Abortion Or Get Fired
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Like any proud mother, Christina Garcia of Mesquite thinks the world of her 9-month-old girl. "She's learning new things everyday," said Garcia.
The 18-year-old filed a lawsuit claiming that the birth of her daughter cost her her job as a receptionist at the Dallas office of ID Doctors. The ID stands for Infectious Disease.
The wrongful-termination lawsuit alleges that Dr. Meenakshi Prabhaker told Garcia that she "would have to have an abortion in order to keep her job."
Garcia was just about to turn 17 when she became pregnant. "He [Dr. Prabhaker] said it wasn't a good image for him," recalled Garcia. "I was very upset. I started crying."
According to the lawsuit, Garcia says Dr. Prabhaker offered to pay for the abortion, among other things. "He would pay for college. He would pay to get a psychiatrist or whatever I needed for counseling." explained Garcia. "The only thing is that I would have to get the abortion and I would have to maintain birth control," she added.
The expectant mother says she lost her job after she told the doctor she was going to keep her child. "My dad came in and told me that the doctor had just called my mom and told her I was fired because I would not get an abortion," said Garcia.
Garcia's mother, Amanda, was also working for ID Doctors at the time. Amanda says she quit her job four days after her daughter was fired.
The attorney representing Dr. Prabhakar and his medical practice says they are confident that a court will dismiss the lawsuit.
Attorney, Brian C. Newby issued CBS 11 the following statement. "My clients vehemently deny this fabricated and frivolous lawsuit for wrongful termination. They have not discriminated against or wrongfully terminated this former employee or any other employee."
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