{"id":2227874,"date":"2024-04-23T07:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T11:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-cassidys-abortion-leave-mandate-is-classic-republican-failure-theater\/"},"modified":"2024-04-23T07:07:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T11:07:29","slug":"bill-cassidys-abortion-leave-mandate-is-classic-republican-failure-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-cassidys-abortion-leave-mandate-is-classic-republican-failure-theater\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Cassidy&#8217;s Abortion Leave Mandate: A Republican &#8216;Failure Theater&#8217; Display"},"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\">20<\/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%2Fbill-cassidys-abortion-leave-mandate-is-classic-republican-failure-theater%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=2227874&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--><p>The Biden administration \u2064recently introduced rules requiring unpaid leave for abortion-seeking workers. Senator\u200b Bill Cassidy&#8217;s legislation left \u2062a loophole that facilitated\u200c this controversial provision. Despite warnings from pro-life\u2063 groups, Cassidy proceeded, leading to the mandate. His office deflects blame, claiming the administration exceeded authority. The EEOC interpretation highlights\u200b a lack of clarity in \u2064Cassidy&#8217;s bill.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Last week, the Biden administration released a series of new rules that, among other things, will require employers to provide leave (albeit unpaid) for workers who want to obtain abortions. Pro-life businesses who object to this new mandate have Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., to thank.<\/p>\n<p>As these pages first <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/09\/13\/sen-bill-cassidy-is-the-lefts-useful-idiot-on-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted back in September<\/a>, Cassidy, who sponsored the underlying legislation that led to the new mandate, left open an abortion loophole big enough for Biden administration regulators to drive a Mack truck through. And the Biden administration proceeded to do just that.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1775365995\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-92a8ef63ad8e2e1b48f95a7eb3d5ff59 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-92a8ef63ad8e2e1b48f95a7eb3d5ff59\"><\/div>\n<p>None of this should come as a surprise to Cassidy, who received <a href=\"https:\/\/catholicvote.org\/do-better-red-flags-raised-by-the-pregnant-workers-fairness-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warnings in late 2022 from pro-life groups<\/a> that his <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonstand.com\/commentary\/pregnant-workers-fairness-act-treats-abortion-like-maternity-leave\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legislation would create<\/a> an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/bench-memos\/pregnant-workers-fairness-act-protects-women-but-promotes-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">abortion leave mandate<\/a>. But as I reported last fall, Cassidy was so desperate to enact the legislation \u2014 to appease the left, naturally \u2014 that he gave the pro-abortion movement the opening it desired.<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy\u2019s office continues to <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/4597539-new-rules-pregnant-workers-fairness-act-covers-accommodations-for-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deflect blame elsewhere<\/a>, claiming the Biden administration exceeded its legislative authority. Which raises a simple question \u2014 \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you make clear <em>in the bill<\/em> that this legislation didn\u2019t apply to abortions?\u201d \u2014 that should prompt Cassidy to look in the mirror.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Pregnant Workers Legislation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/public-inspection.federalregister.gov\/2024-07527.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regulations<\/a> implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, included as part of a (<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/12\/21\/anonymous-gop-aide-epitomizes-the-swampiness-behind-congresss-omnibus-spending-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">swampy<\/a>) omnibus spending bill at the end of 2022. Specifically, the controversy surrounds whether the statutory definition of \u201cpregnancy, childbirth, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-one-should-be-forced-to-choose-between-his-faith-and-his-paycheck\/\" title=\"No One Should Be Forced To Choose Between His Faith And His Paycheck\">related medical conditions<\/a>\u201d includes abortion; the Biden administration (naturally) concluded it did.<\/p>\n<p>The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which released the regulation in question, noted that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which passed in 1978, also included the phrase \u201cpregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.\u201d In the four-plus decades since, the EEOC has interpreted that phrase to include abortion.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7151b8dbc38949687d31edcec54ad392 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7151b8dbc38949687d31edcec54ad392\"><\/div>\n<p>As the commission noted in last week\u2019s rule, \u201cby including the same key phrase in the [Pregnant Workers Fairness Act] and not articulating a different meaning than in the [Pregnancy Discrimination Act], Congress is presumed to know and intend that the same definition will be applied.\u201d To put it more bluntly, the EEOC is saying that while politicians like Cassidy may be dumb, they shouldn\u2019t be surprised to use the same language as in 1978 and get the same regulatory result.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cassidy\u2019s (Feeble) Excuses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cassidy\u2019s office has claimed that a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TKWiVF8q2K8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">floor statement<\/a> he gave during debate on the legislation in 2022, along with a <a href=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/SenatorBobCasey\/videos\/senator-casey-attempts-to-pass-the-pregnant-workers-fairness-act\/617057866858396\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separate statement<\/a> by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., shows the sponsors\u2019 intent that abortion should not be considered a \u201crelated medical condition\u201d to pregnancy. But the EEOC regulation notes that other lawmakers gave the exact opposite interpretation \u2014 that the bill would allow for workers to take unpaid leave for appointments related to abortion.<\/p>\n<p>The regulation notes that \u201cthe Commission must rely on the plain text of the statute. Given the meaning of the words that Congress chose to use \u2026 and the Commission\u2019s and courts\u2019 long history of interpreting those identical words to include abortion, the Commission will interpret those words the same way.\u201d If Bill Cassidy has anyone he wants to blame for the EEOC\u2019s action, he should start with himself.<\/p>\n<p>Cassidy\u2019s office complained about my September story, but his own actions belie his rhetoric. To wit, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/116\/bills\/hr2694\/BILLS-116hr2694eh.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prior versions<\/a> of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act did not include language stating that employers need not pay for abortion procedures themselves. Cassidy, to his credit, included language in the version of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act that got signed into law explicitly exempting businesses from a requirement to pay for abortions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b35857b0236068bf1071beb8529af068 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b35857b0236068bf1071beb8529af068\"><\/div>\n<p>But if Cassidy could ask for and receive explicit pro-life language in the bill addressing a concern that employers not be required to pay for abortion, why didn\u2019t he demand similarly explicit language in the bill to prevent a mandate for (unpaid) abortion leave?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rationalizing Failure<\/h2>\n<p>As my <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/09\/13\/sen-bill-cassidy-is-the-lefts-useful-idiot-on-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sources last fall indicated<\/a>, Cassidy didn\u2019t insist on language fixing the abortion leave mandate because he was desperate for a deal. The sad thing was, Democrats on the other side of the aisle were even more desperate.<\/p>\n<p>Among the questions I posed to Cassidy\u2019s office last fall was why he insisted on including the measure in the omnibus spending bill that passed during the 2022 lame-duck session of Congress:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Why didn\u2019t Sen. Cassidy wait 10 more days, until the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abortion-clinics-fear-setback-as-lawsuit-against-heartbeat-act-moves-to-texas-supreme-court\/\" title=\"Abortion Clinics Fear Setback as Lawsuit Against Heartbeat Act Moves to Texas Supreme Court\">pro-life majority<\/a> in the House gave Republicans more leverage to insist on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-bill-cassidy-is-the-lefts-useful-idiot-on-abortion\/\" title=\"Sen. Bill Cassidy is a pawn of the left when it comes to abortion.\">explicit pro-life protections<\/a>, to put forward the PWFA? Was there any particular need to offer the amendment last December, other than that Planned Parenthood and the bill\u2019s supporters were demanding it pass before the end of the Congress?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>With the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, there was no particular reason why the legislation needed to pass in December 2022 rather than January 2023. The federal government wouldn\u2019t have shut down, nor any plague or pestilence descend upon the land, if these particular provisions took a few more weeks, or even a few more months, to come onto the statute books.<\/p>\n<p>But Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and congressional Democrats desperately wanted to pass the legislation in the 2022 lame-duck session. They knew that the incoming, Republican-led House of Representatives would be more skeptical of new mandates on employers and more insistent on protecting the pro-life cause from new abortion-related mandates. So Cassidy had the stronger leverage to demand that the legislation pass with full pro-life protections, or not at all.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Cassidy caved, putting the desire of Planned Parenthood and related groups to pass the legislation over his alleged \u201c100% pro-life\u201d record. And his office continues to try to shift blame to the Biden administration and others for acting in ways that Cassidy\u2019s office was told would happen. It\u2019s the exact type of \u201cfailure theater\u201d \u2014 spineless lawmakers trying to rationalize their own failure with weasel words and feeble excuses \u2014 that makes the public loathe Washington.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d6ba7a9d9ce07ef65c415f0d7ebe5801 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d6ba7a9d9ce07ef65c415f0d7ebe5801\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Biden administration recently introduced new rules mandating employers to offer unpaid leave for employees seeking abortions. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is credited for this provision. Pro-life businesses opposing the mandate can attribute their objections to Cassidy, as previously highlighted in September<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2227875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/53270157991_ada6d2af31_k.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2227874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/53270157991_ada6d2af31_k.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227874","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\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2227874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2227874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2227874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2227874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}