Biden admin hijacks pregnant-workers law to impose illegal abortion mandate

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Julie Marie Blake regarding proposed regulations the Biden administration announced Monday for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s proposed rule hijacks the bipartisan law, which does not address abortion, to impose an abortion mandate on virtually every employer in the country, even those whose religious beliefs dictate that life begins at conception:

“Congress sought to help pregnant workers, not force employers to facilitate abortions. 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.”

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires every employer in America to “reasonably accommodate” a worker’s “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” The administration is now proposing that “related medical conditions” include “termination of pregnancy, including via . . . abortion.” This new mandate would require employers with more than 15 employees to create “reasonable accommodations” for their workers’ abortions, even if doing so violates their pro-life or religious beliefs.

The proposed rule will be formally published Friday, kicking off a 60-day period for pro-life and religious Americans to submit public comments to the administration.

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

# # #