Catholic nurse practitioner reaches settlement with CVS in religious discrimination suit

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2025 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

Catholic nurse practitioner Gudrun Kristofersdottir recently agreed to a settlement in a religious discrimination case against CVS, her lawyers have announced. 

Kristofersdottir initially filed a lawsuit in 2024 following her termination from a Florida CVS MinuteClinic after she refused to prescribe contraceptives or drugs that could cause abortions.

The nurse practitioner was originally granted a religious accommodation from 2014 to 2022 that allowed her to refuse to prescribe contraceptives and abortifacients.

First Liberty Institute, which represented Kristofersdottir in the suit, said that when patients sought out contraceptives from Kristofersdottir, she would simply refer them to a different provider who would prescribe the medication. 

In 2021, CVS announced it would revoke all such religious accommodations. Kristofersdottir was subsequently fired in April 2022. 

Upon filing the lawsuit, First Liberty Institute attorney Stephanie Taub described it as “illegal to issue a blanket revocation of all religious accommodations when CVS can accommodate its employees.”

“CVS is sending a message that religious health care workers are not welcome and need not apply,” Taub said at the time.

The pharmacy “could have accommodated Ms. Kristofersdottir in several ways,” the suit argued, including by “transferring her to a virtual position, a larger clinic, an education or training position, or a location specializing in COVID-19, or continuing to honor the religious accommodation that worked successfully for years.”

In her lawsuit, Kristofersdottir said she believes the teachings of the Church regarding human dignity and marriage, and therefore that “the procreative potential of intercourse may not be subverted by device or procedure.” 

“Further, Ms. Kristofersdottir believes that abortion constitutes a moral evil in violation of humanity’s obligation to protect life with the utmost care from the moment of conception,” the suit said.

On March 21, First Liberty announced a settlement between the two parties. “We are happy to announce that we were able to reach a resolution of the case,” Taub said. 

The details of the agreement have not been made public, but Taub said Kristofersdottir “is pleased with the settlement.”

This is not the only instance of a medical official suing CVS over religious accommodations. Robyn Strader, a Texas-based nurse, sued CVS in 2023 after losing her religious exemption from prescribing contraceptives or abortion-causing drugs.

Similar to Kristofersdottir, Strader also had a long-standing accommodation that was honored for more than six years before the company dismantled it. Her case was settled with CVS in 2024.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262945/catholic-nurse-practitioner-reaches-settlement-with-cvs-in-religious-discrimination-suit