In an act of executive overreach from Joe Biden, on August 11, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published a proposed rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The pro-abortion rule which would establish a nationwide requirement that employers with 15 or more employees make “reasonable accommodation” to enable employees to obtain elective abortion, including providing paid or unpaid leave.
This mandate also applies to employers in states with protective pro-life laws. The mandate does not require payment for the abortion nor does it require abortion health insurance coverage.
The EEOC proposal clearly disregards the legislative intent of the bipartisan PWFA, which established workplace protections for pregnant women and was not intended by Congress to include abortion.
In December 2022, Congress passed PWFA, a pro-life bill that aimed to make the workplace more accessible to pregnant women. “The PWFA has been in effect since June 27, 2023, but the final rule and accompanying guidance clarify (and in some ways expand) the obligations that were explicit in the statute itself,” according to the law firm of Gibson Dunn.
Please follow LifeNews on Rumble for the latest pro-life videos.
“The regulations implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which itself provides helpful accommodations to pregnant women in the workplace,” stated Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee for Religious Liberty. “The EEOC, however, has defied Congress’s intent and added a mandate for employers, including religious employers, to provide accommodations, such as leave time, for abortion.”
The EEOC summary of the proposed rule is available here.
LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. This post originally appeared in at National Right to Life News Today —- an online column on pro-life issues.
