The Biden administration has announced proposed regulations for the implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act that will require employers of all sizes to provide reasonable accommodations for workers’ elective abortions. The announcement has sparked criticism from senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Julie Marie Blake, who noted that Congress “sought to help pregnant workers, not force employers to facilitate abortions.”
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires all employers in America with more than 15 employees to “reasonably accommodate” a worker’s “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” The EEOC’s proposed rule declares that “related medical conditions” include “termination of pregnancy,” which will create a mandate for employers to provide reasonable accommodations for workers’ elective abortions “even if doing so violates their pro-life or religious beliefs.”
In response to the proposed regulation, Blake stated, “The Biden administration is hijacking a bipartisan law that doesn’t even mention abortion to forcibly require every employer in America to provide ‘reasonable accommodations’ for their workers’ elective abortions. The administration’s unlawful proposal violates state laws protecting the unborn and employers’ pro-life and religious beliefs. The administration doesn’t have the legal authority to smuggle an abortion mandate into a transformational pro-life, pro-woman law. Alliance Defending Freedom stands ready to continue defending unborn lives and to oppose this egregious federal overreach.”
Blake believes that the proposal is an “egregious federal overreach” and another example of the Biden administration’s “assault on unborn lives.” She noted that, while Congress had the best of intentions when they put forth the act, the inclusion of the abortion mandate is in direct opposition to the original goals of the act.
In addition to ADF, prominent religious and political leaders have also raised concerns about the proposal. Several pro-life organizations, including the American Center for Law and Justice, called the proposal an “unconscionable attack on the biblical view of life” while several lawmakers have vowed to continue fighting for pro-life civilians against the “unjust” proposal.
The Biden administration’s proposed rule will be formally published on Friday, marking the start of a 60-day period for people to submit public comments to the administration. ADF has encouraged individuals to submit comments and share their thoughts on the regulation in order to “send a strong message to the Biden administration that their unlawful proposal is not acceptable.”Until then, ADF and various pro-life organizations will continue advocating for unborn lives and the protection of religious liberties.
