"Celebrating Diversity" ASHA Denies Religious Exemption To Faith-Based Community Members

Still on break (I'm trying) but there has been such a large volume of email lately regarding this issue that I decided to post this for all to see. ASHA denied this request several months ago (no surprise), but I have held this back from the blog because other legal possibilities were being explored. Now there is so much interest going on that I think people need to know what has already been looked at.
Breaking news: my understanding is that a university fluency professor (Ph.D.) is now very close to resigning from ASHA on conscientious and moral grounds (just try to imagine how unlikely it would be for a physical therapist to feel that they had to resign from their national association on moral grounds and you begin to see how off course ASHA has gotten). Also, ASHA has confirmed to at least one member that it will print a very carefully worded statement regarding its relationship to its gay caucus before the end of the summer. Also, this blog had its 10,000th hit this past week.

Attention Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, and Jews: kindly leave your pesky consciences and faith at the door when you join ASHA.

To: Arlene Pietranton
Subject: Arlene: A Request per Legal Counseling

Arlene,
I have been advised by the Pacific Justice Institute (9851 Horn Road Sacramento, CA 95827-1957 (916-857-6900) that because a number of ASHA members have sincere religious objections to ASHA's advocacy and support of issues that violate their religious beliefs that ASHA should provide a Hudson/Beck Refund to members who request it. The Beck Refund is an accommodation supported by the United States Supreme Court in:

Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988)

As ASHA has provided convention space to L'Gasp, has provided free accommodations to a member of the multicultural committee who represents L'Gasp, has used ASHA association facilities and resources (including salaried employees) to revise its ethics code in favor of transgenders and cross-dressers, has used its resources to monitor ENDA, and as these are in conflict with the religious beliefs of members, a Hudson/Beck Refund accommodation should be made available to members who request it. This refund would pro-rate our fees so that members would receive back the percentage used by ASHA for expenditures of an offensive nature.

I am hereby requesting to know ASHA's procedures for obtaining a Hudson/Beck refund for ASHA members who have a religious objection to ASHA's support, affirmation, and advocacy of causes that are in conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs.


cc: Pacific Justice Institute