{"id":2064636,"date":"2023-10-12T10:30:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T14:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservatives-lobby-to-keep-abortion-out-of-new-pregnant-worker-protection-law\/"},"modified":"2023-10-12T10:34:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T14:34:01","slug":"conservatives-lobby-to-keep-abortion-out-of-new-pregnant-worker-protection-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservatives-lobby-to-keep-abortion-out-of-new-pregnant-worker-protection-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservatives push to exclude abortion from new law protecting pregnant workers."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconservatives-lobby-to-keep-abortion-out-of-new-pregnant-worker-protection-law%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2064636&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Conservatives Push to Exclude Abortion from\u2064 New \u200bLaw on \u200cPregnant Workers&#8217; Rights<\/h2>\n<p>Conservatives are fiercely advocating to prevent abortion from being included\u200d in the\u2064 Biden administration&#8217;s interpretation of the recently passed Pregnant Workers Fairness Act \u200b(PWFA). This act, which received\u2064 bipartisan support in \u2063June, aims to ensure that \u200dpregnant or recently postpartum\u200c employees are provided with reasonable accommodations by their employers, such as \u200btime off, seating, and breaks for bathroom and drinks.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Expansive Definition Sparks Controversy<\/h3>\n<p>In a \u200dproposed rule for implementing the PWFA, the Equal Employment\u2062 Opportunity Commission (EEOC) used a \u2063broad interpretation of the law&#8217;s \u2064language, extending\u2063 its protection to include birth \u200dcontrol, menstruation, lactation, \u2062fertility treatments, miscarriage, and even\u2064 the choice to have or not\u200b have an abortion. Republicans argue that Congress did not intend for\u200c abortion to be included and\u200c view the agency&#8217;s proposal as a violation of \u2062the law.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;The absence of any mention of \u2063abortion\u200b indicates that it is \u2062not permitted,&#8221; stated Virginia Foxx (R-NC),\u200b Chairwoman of the Education and \u2064the Workforce Committee, in an interview \u2063with the Washington Examiner.\u2064 &#8220;The EEOC cannot draft rules that encompass abortion. It\u200b is abundantly clear to me that both the House and the Senate understood this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The deadline for public comments on \u2062the EEOC&#8217;s proposed \u2064rule was Tuesday, with over 10,000 responses submitted.\u200b The EEOC is required to address these \u200dcomments before finalizing the rule in late December.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Protecting\u200d Pregnant Mothers and\u2063 Unborn Children<\/h3>\n<p>Senator Bill \u2063Cassidy (R-LA) expressed his opposition to \u200dthe Biden administration&#8217;s interpretation of the law in his\u2062 public comment letter. \u2064&#8221;The goal\u200c of the\u2063 PWFA is \u2064to ensure a safe workplace for pregnant\u200c mothers and their unborn children,&#8221; he\u2064 wrote. &#8220;Using it as a means to advance abortion access through regulation undermines bipartisan legislation and exposes the Commission to legal challenges.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Cassidy, who chairs\u2062 the \u200cSenate Health, Education, Labor, \u2062and Pensions Committee, has faced criticism from anti-abortion activists for\u200b not explicitly prohibiting \u200cthe \u200cEEOC from protecting abortion in the\u2062 statute.\u2063 However, \u200bhis communications director, Ty \u2063Bofferding, argued \u2063that the Biden \u200badministration would\u200c have\u2063 disregarded legislative intent regardless.<\/p>\n<p>Religious exemptions regarding\u200b abortion accommodations\u2062 are also a contentious \u200cissue. The EEOC is currently considering whether religious organizations \u2064should be required \u200cto provide accommodations regardless of\u200d their beliefs.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Concerns Over Religious\u2062 Freedom<\/h3>\n<p>Andrew Langer, director of CPAC&#8217;s Center for Regulatory Freedom, expressed\u200c concerns about the EEOC potentially enforcing \u2063its interpretation of the statute without any exemptions for employers. &#8220;Not only is the Biden administration pushing the abortion issue in a rulemaking \u200cthat should focus on \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-judge-issues-temporary-restraining-order-impedes-new-pro-life-legislation\/\" title=\"Texas judge issues temporary restraining order, impedes new pro-life legislation\">protecting pregnant women<\/a>, but it is also \u200dusing the EEOC to erode the religious \u200bfreedom protections that Americans have cherished for centuries,&#8221; Langer \u200cwarned.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Representatives Foxx \u2064and Miller emphasized the \u2063need for religious exemptions in \u200dtheir comment on\u200b the rule, citing\u2063 the statute&#8217;s text \u200cand its similarity to \u200bexemptions under\u200b the Americans with \u2063Disabilities Act. They firmly believe that these protections should be unquestionably \u200dincluded in the final \u200brule.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Biden administration is determined to undermine the rights of\u200c the \u200cunborn by promoting \u2063policies \u200dthat\u200c betray \u200cthe sanctity of\u200c life,&#8221; stated Miller. Foxx went even further, \u200dlabeling the Biden administration as &#8220;the most anti-life&#8221; in history.<\/p>\n<p>As of now, the EEOC has \u200dnot\u200d responded to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n<p><em>Click here to read more from the Washington Examiner.<\/em><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What legal uncertainties arise from the \u200binclusion of abortion in the PWFA, and how do some argue that it \u200cmay infringe upon employers&#8217; First \u2062Amendment rights and undermine religious freedom<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Artisan efforts to support pregnant workers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Conservatives argue that the inclusion of abortion in the PWFA contradicts\u2063 the intent of the original legislation and overlooks the rights \u2064of unborn children. They believe that the focus should be on protecting pregnant women and their unborn babies in the workplace, rather \u200bthan expanding access to abortion procedures.<\/p>\n<p>Proponents of excluding abortion from the PWFA argue that it is a \u200dcontroversial and divisive issue that should be addressed\u2062 separately\u2064 from workers&#8217; rights. They emphasize that the purpose of the act is to provide accommodations and support for pregnant employees, and that abortion should not be part of that\u2064 discussion.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Legal\u200c \u200cUncertainties<\/h3>\n<p>The inclusion of abortion\u200b in the PWFA also raises\u200d concerns about its legality. Some argue that interpreting the law to include \u200cabortion may\u200c infringe upon \u2062the\u200b First Amendment rights of employers \u2064who have religious or moral objections to the procedure. They claim that forcing\u2062 employers to provide accommodations for \u2062abortion would violate their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-hawley-says-biden-abortion-policies-are-an-insult\/\" title=\"Sen. Hawley says Biden abortion policies are an insult\">deeply held beliefs<\/a> and undermine religious freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, conservatives argue that including abortion in the\u200d PWFA could lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservatives-lobby-to-keep-abortion-out-of-new-pregnant-worker-protection-law\/\" title=\"Conservatives push to exclude abortion from new law protecting pregnant workers.\">employers indirectly subsidizing abortion procedures<\/a> \u2063through\u200d insurance coverage and employer-sponsored healthcare plans. This raises additional concerns for those who are morally opposed to\u2062 abortion, as they would be\u2063 required to contribute to something they consider morally objectionable.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As\u2063 the EEOC reviews the public comments and finalizes the rule, the debate over the inclusion of abortion in the\u200c PWFA is likely to continue. Conservatives\u2062 remain hopeful that their concerns will be addressed and that the final rule will prioritize the protection of pregnant workers without expanding access to abortion. However, it remains\u2062 to be seen how the Biden administration will respond to these arguments and\u200c whether they will make\u200d any changes to the interpretation of the law.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, conservatives are pushing to exclude abortion from the PWFA, arguing that it goes against the original intent of the legislation and raises legal and moral concerns. They believe that the focus should be on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-sneaks-pro-abortion-policy-into-pregnant-workers-fairness-act\/\" title=\"Biden Admin includes pro-choice policy in Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.\">supporting pregnant workers<\/a> and their\u200d unborn children, rather than expanding access to abortion services. The final decision on the interpretation\u200d of the \u200blaw will have significant implications for both pregnant employees and those who \u2062have moral or religious objections to abortion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conservatives aim to exclude abortion from the Biden administration&#8217;s interpretation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The bipartisan PWFA, passed in June, mandates employers to offer reasonable accommodation to pregnant or postpartum employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2064637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2064636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2064636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2064637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2064636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2064636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2064636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}