By . Lydia Warren . A Catholic school teacher who was fired for being pregnant and unmarried has given birth to a son. Shaela Evenson, who was dismissed from Butte Central Elementary School in Montana in January, and her partner, Marilyn Tobin, welcomed Brody Tobin Evenson on March 7. The child - the couple's first - was born weighing 6lb 15oz, the Montana Standard reported. The parents' joy comes after a troublesome few months for the family, after Evenson was dismissed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena on January 10. New addition: Shaela Evenson, left pregnant and right with her partner Marilyn Tobin, has given birth to a baby boy two months after she was fired from her teaching job for being pregnant and unmarried . The diocese received an anonymous letter . saying the teacher was pregnant, administrators decided to fire her not . based on her merit but because her pregnancy violated their belief . system. They said Evenson, who has taught literature and physical education at the school for nine years, had violated her employment contract, in which she agreed to follow Catholic teachings. Evenson, 36, is not a Catholic herself. Her attorney, Brian Butler of Ohio, filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this month. He argued an employer . can't require employees to waive their rights under anti-discrimination . laws - including a woman's right to bear children. New parents: The baby boy, who was born March 7, is the first child for Tobin, left, and Evenson, right . Both Butler and Superintendent Pat Haggarty said Evenson was not fired for being a lesbian. 'They . told her she was fired for being pregnant and unmarried,' Butler said. 'Nobody was hiding anything. (Shaela) never denied the fact that sheâ€™s . in a relationship with Marilyn.' Her firing led to outcry among the community and across the country, and a GoFundMe page was set up to help her and Tobin, a former Montana Tech coach, with their family's costs. It has so far raised around $2,000. 'Besides being an outstanding educator and an inspiration to her young students, Shaela is in a long-term, committed relationship,' it explains. 'This pregnancy is hard-fought and very much wanted.' The social justice group Faithful America and the teacher's friends, Susan Hawthorne and Margaret Rankin, also delivered a petition with 22,000 signatures to Bishop George Leo Thomas of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena weeks after her firing. Dismissed: She was dismissed from Butte Central Elementary School, pictured, after 9 years of teaching . 'Firing an unmarried teacher for becoming pregnant is cruel and hypocritical,' said the petition. 'Give Shaela Evenson her job back, and start taking Pope Francis' words about love and healing more seriously.' Some Catholics pointed out that even Pope Francis has been signalling lately that unwed mothers should not be shunned by society. Last month, the pontiff baptized a child born out of wedlock inside the Sistine Chapel, and in September, he offered an unmarried woman who had chosen not to have an abortion to personally baptize the baby.
Shaela Evenson, 36, was fired from Butte Schools in Montana after someone tipped off the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena .
She had worked for the district for 9 years and her firing caused outrage .
On March 7, she and her partner welcomed their first child .
By . Lydia Warren . A Catholic school teacher who was fired for being pregnant and unmarried has given birth to a son. Shaela Evenson, who was dismissed from Butte Central Elementary School in Montana in January, and her partner, Marilyn Tobin, welcomed Brody Tobin Evenson on March 7. The child - the couple's first - was born weighing 6lb 15oz, the Montana Standard reported. The parents' joy comes after a troublesome few months for the family, after Evenson was dismissed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena on January 10. New addition: Shaela Evenson, left pregnant and right with her partner Marilyn Tobin, has given birth to a baby boy two months after she was fired from her teaching job for being pregnant and unmarried . The diocese received an anonymous letter . saying the teacher was pregnant, administrators decided to fire her not . based on her merit but because her pregnancy violated their belief . system. They said Evenson, who has taught literature and physical education at the school for nine years, had violated her employment contract, in which she agreed to follow Catholic teachings. Evenson, 36, is not a Catholic herself. Her attorney, Brian Butler of Ohio, filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this month. He argued an employer . can't require employees to waive their rights under anti-discrimination . laws - including a woman's right to bear children. New parents: The baby boy, who was born March 7, is the first child for Tobin, left, and Evenson, right . Both Butler and Superintendent Pat Haggarty said Evenson was not fired for being a lesbian. 'They . told her she was fired for being pregnant and unmarried,' Butler said. 'Nobody was hiding anything. (Shaela) never denied the fact that sheâ€™s . in a relationship with Marilyn.' Her firing led to outcry among the community and across the country, and a GoFundMe page was set up to help her and Tobin, a former Montana Tech coach, with their family's costs. It has so far raised around $2,000. 'Besides being an outstanding educator and an inspiration to her young students, Shaela is in a long-term, committed relationship,' it explains. 'This pregnancy is hard-fought and very much wanted.' The social justice group Faithful America and the teacher's friends, Susan Hawthorne and Margaret Rankin, also delivered a petition with 22,000 signatures to Bishop George Leo Thomas of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena weeks after her firing. Dismissed: She was dismissed from Butte Central Elementary School, pictured, after 9 years of teaching . 'Firing an unmarried teacher for becoming pregnant is cruel and hypocritical,' said the petition. 'Give Shaela Evenson her job back, and start taking Pope Francis' words about love and healing more seriously.' Some Catholics pointed out that even Pope Francis has been signalling lately that unwed mothers should not be shunned by society. Last month, the pontiff baptized a child born out of wedlock inside the Sistine Chapel, and in September, he offered an unmarried woman who had chosen not to have an abortion to personally baptize the baby.
Montana in January, and her partner, Marilyn dismissed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena after she was fired from her teaching job for March 7, is the first child for Tobin, left, and firing. Dismissed: She was dismissed from Butte said the petition. 'Give Shaela Evenson her job