In 2011, Emily Herx was fired by an Indiana Catholic school because she had in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. She sued the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend in 2012 for discrimination, but the claim was denied in September. Although infertility is a recognized disability, US District Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr., decided that her dismissal did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. He did allow the case to proceed to trial to determine whether Herx was the victim of gender discrimination, which is covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported.

In an unusual move, the lawyers for the defense tried to halt the case before it reached trial because “the diocese contends the religious employer exemptions and the United States Constitution provide it with exemptions and immunities from having to proceed to trial under these circumstances,” the Law360 blog reported. According to the Journal Gazette, the defense is also arguing that protections against sex discrimination under the Civil Rights Act cannot be enforced for employees like Herx without violating established exemptions for religious employers.

Susan Deller Ross of the Georgetown University Law Center called the diocese’s attempt to avoid a trial an “incredibly broad claim to a religious exemption,” according to Mother Jones.