Jury Awards Former Southwest Flight Attendant $5.3M After She Was Fired in 2017 Over Her Abortion Views

Former Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter, who was fired over her abortion views, was awarded $5.3 million from a jury on Friday.

The lawsuit dated back to 2017 when Carter spoke out on social media against a union leader who had attended the Women’s March, which received some funding from Planned Parenthood.

According to a press release, Carter joined the Transportation Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556 union in 1996 and resigned in 2013 after realizing that her religious views did not align with those of the union, but she was required to continue paying union fees as a condition of her employment.

In a statement given to Fox Business on the day of the decision, Carter announced, “Today is a victory for freedom of speech and religious beliefs.”

“Flight attendants should have a voice and nobody should be able to retaliate against a flight attendant for engaging in protected speech against her union,” Carter insisted.

Carter added, “I am so humbled and thankful for today’s decision and for everyone who’s supported me these past five years, including the National Right to Work Foundation.”

In a Facebook post, Carter declared, “Thank You all for your PRAYERS … I GIVE JESUS all the Glory for this WIN!”

Both TWU Local 556 and Southwest were defendants in the case and an attorney with the Law Offices of Cloutman and Greenfield, PLLC representing TWU Local 556, Adam Greenfield said that the decision would be appealed.

Greenfield said the “factual evidence” in the case “indicates an outcome different from the recent decision of the jury, which may have misunderstood the court’s charge.”

Southwest also said in a statement that there would be an appeal and that the company was “disappointed in the verdict.”