A federal judge entered a $543,803 judgment against the Fort Wayne-South Bend Catholic Diocese Monday.

The judgment brings down the $1.9 million won by former diocesan school teacher Emily Herx in her lawsuit against the diocese for violating her civil rights.

In December, after a four-day trial, a federal jury awarded the language arts teacher the money, finding she was the victim of discrimination when the diocese declined to renew her teaching contract at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School after she underwent in vitro fertilization and became pregnant.

The fertility treatment is prohibited by church teaching.

For more on this story, see Tuesday's edition of The Journal Gazette or visit this web site after 3 a.m.

rgreen@jg.net