Fifty Members of Congress submitted an amicus brief arguing that the Biden Administration illegally commandeered the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) to force all U.S. employers - even faith-based and religious organizations – to accommodate employee abortions.
Led by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN), Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), the lawmakers submitted the brief Tuesday to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of U.S. Bishops (USCCB) and other religious entities in United States Conference of Catholic Bishops v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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The Members of Congress explain in the brief that the bipartisan PWFA’s purpose was to allow for protections and accommodations for pregnant and postpartum women in the workplace. But despite the fact the law does not contain any reference to abortion, the Biden-era Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a Final Rule that extended the PWFA’s definition of “medical conditions” to include abortion and mandated that all employers nationwide accommodate employee abortions.
“Flouting the law Congress passed, the EEOC transformed the PWFA into a draconian national abortion-accommodations mandate that tramples the conscience rights of those who object to abortion, including some of the very faith-based organizations that supported the PWFA,” the lawmakers argue.
“Congress included a religious exemption in the PWFA, guaranteeing that no religious employer would have to violate its faith,” they said. “But by interpreting the religious exemption narrowly and medical justifications for abortion broadly, the Final Rule fundamentally repurposes the PWFA into an unprecedented instrument of radical abortion policy.”
The 37 Representatives and 13 Senators argue that the EEOC required, yet bypassed, congressional authorization to enforce its Final Rule, explaining how “the EEOC contorted the PWFA into a radical revision of national policy on one of the most contentious issues in America today.”
They say as well that Congress specifically chose “not to link the PWFA’s definition of ‘medical condition’ to the definition in other statutes” that could possibly create loopholes for abortion.
“The intent and text of the PWFA are clear,” they said, “to ensure healthy pregnancies by supporting women with pregnancy-related medical conditions both during and after their pregnancy. The EEOC ignored the statute and substituted its views on abortion for those of Congress, injecting abortion politics into a law designed to help mothers healthily carry their child to term.”
Tweet This: The Biden EEOC substituted its views on abortion for those of Congress, injecting abortion politics into a law meant to help mothers.
The full list of Members of Congress who cosigned the friend-of-the-court brief is below.
House Cosigners (37): Reps. Smith (R-NJ), Houchin (R-IN), Aderholt (R-AL), Alford (R-MO), Babin (R-TX), Bice (R-OK), Biggs (R-AZ), Biggs (R-SC), Bilirakis (R-FL), Cammack (R-FL), Cline (R-VA), Cloud (R-TX), Clyde (R-GA), Davidson (R-OH), Downing (R-MT), Estes (R-KS), Fedorchak (R-ND), Fleischmann (R-TN), Franklin (R-FL), Fulcher (R-ID), Griffith (R-VA), Hageman (R-WY), Harris (R-MD), McGuire (R-VA), Miller (R-IL), Moore (R-UT), Moore (R-WV), Moran (R-TX), Ogles (R-TN), Onder (R-MO), Rose (R-TN), Schmidt (R-KS), Stutzman (R-IN), Tenney (R-NY), Weber (R-TX), Webster (R-FL), Yakym (R-IN)
Senate Cosigners (13): Sens. Cassidy (LA), Lankford (OK), Barrasso (WY), Banks (IN), Budd (NC), Cramer (ND), Graham (SC), Hyde-Smith (MS), Marshall (KS), Paul (KY), Ricketts (NE), Tim Scott (SC), Sheehy (MT)
