Democrat's bill would let students like Julea Ward decline to counsel clients over beliefs

A Michigan state senator's bill would give students like Julea Ward the freedom to refuse to counsel a client based on religious beliefs or moral conviction, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Ward, a graduate student, was kicked out of a counseling program at Eastern Michigan University when she declined to counsel a gay student, saying homosexuality was against her religious beliefs. Ward had referred the client to another counselor.

Julea Ward was dismissed from Eastern Michigan University's counseling program after she refused to counsel a gay client.

Photo courtesy of ADF

Sen. Tupac Hunter, the Senate's Democratic floor leader, introduced the bill. In a statement, he said he believes it's wrong for a higher learning institution to dismiss a student "because of their refusal to compromise their own belief system," the Free Press reported.

Ward, who sued EMU in 2009, lost in the lower courts, but Ward and her attorneys, the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that works to uphold the rights of religious college students and faculty, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District.

EMU has said Ward was dismissed for violating the code of ethics of the American Counseling Association.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette earlier this year released a statement supporting Ward.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has weighed in on the side of EMU.