Pregnant women sent home without pay

Hazel McCallion Senior Public School
Mississauga, Ontario

By Jessica Williamson, Grade 8

When a woman becomes pregnant, she does not expect to be treated any differently than any other female working in the same environment. To do so would be a violation of human rights.

So, why should two polices officers, Constables Sue Story and Joanne Shier, from Orangeville, Ontario, be sent home without pay because they are pregnant?

Pregnancy is simply a temporary change to the female body. Therefore, there is no reason why they should be the subject of this discrimination. The two officers are neither sick nor disabled. Not only are the officers able to work, but they are also more than willing to do so.

There is a chance that by working in their chosen field, they may be putting their unborn child’s life in danger. Fortunately, the chances of them being put in this kind of position are slim to none. If the officers are not physically able to do their job, the problem could be easily solved by simply having them work at a front desk or do similar clerical duties.

If a male police officer were to gain 20 to 30 pounds over the course of nine months, would they be considered unable to work? It is most unlikely. If this was the case, given the amount of donuts presumably consumed in police cruisers, probably half of the force could be sent home at any point in time!

Since the police department must employ female officers, it should have expected that this situation might arise at some point and should have come up with a course of action that would have been mutually beneficial. To expect these officers to sit at home without pay for being in a truly natural state is ludicrous.

In light of this evidence, there is no excuse for sending Officers Story and Shier home early and without pay. Pregnant women are simply normal human beings helping to create other human beings.