New details have emerged in the case of Alina Thopurathu, the Catholic physician assistant student suing Springfield College for alleged discrimination and wrongful dismissal.
According to a report released by The College Fix, Thopurathu claims the school violated her civil rights after she objected to observing a second-trimester abortion during a clinical rotation at a Baystate Health hospital.
Thopurathu, an honors student nearing graduation, says she was emotionally distressed by the procedure and penalized after expressing her discomfort. She wrote in her clinical evaluation, “I was very overwhelmed by this experience. However, I was too afraid to speak up because I didn’t want to cause a scene.” She also said, “In the future, I believe students should be asked if they are comfortable seeing a D&E rather than being assigned the procedure without patient information.”
The lawsuit alleges that her rotation grade was changed to “incomplete,” she was forced into extra requirements, and ultimately dismissed under questionable academic grounds.
Thopurathu is seeking $500,000 in damages, citing religious discrimination, breach of contract, and civil conspiracy. The college has not commented publicly.
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