Senate Republicans Block Democrat Bill That Could Force Employers to Fund Abortions

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Dec 14, 2022   |   1:28PM   |   Washington, DC

Three U.S. Senate Republicans blocked the controversial Pregnant Workers Fairness Act on Thursday after expressing concerns that employers could be forced to assist employees who choose to abort their unborn babies in elective abortions.

The bipartisan bill, which requires workplace accommodations for pregnant mothers, has divided pro-life advocates and Republican lawmakers, because some say the legislation is written in such a way that employers could be forced to pay abortion-related expenses for employees.

On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, James Lankford, of Oklahoma, and Steve Daines, of Montana, blocked a vote on the bill, saying employers could be forced to support “abortions on demand,” The Huffington Post reports.

Tillis said the bill could force employers to “provide accommodations such as leave to obtain abortions on demand under the guise of pregnancy-related condition.”

“I and a number of other people do not believe that abortion is health care. I believe it’s a brutal procedure that destroys an innocent child,” he said. “The federal government should not be promoting abortion, let alone mandating that pro-life employers and employers in states that protect life facilitate abortion on demand.”

But another pro-life Republican, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, of Louisiana, is a sponsor of the bill. He said Tillis’s claims are not accurate, and he supports the bill because he is pro-life, according to the report.

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“I reject the characterization that this would do anything to promote abortion,” Cassidy said during the floor debate. “I think even those that oppose would agree that we need to have a safe environment for pregnant women and their unborn children in the workplace. I would say that this bill is pro-family, pro-mother, pro-baby, pro-employer and pro-economy. I hope at a later point we can pass.”

The U.S. House passed a version of the bill in May, and it still could pass the Senate before the end of the year.

Primarily, the bill is supposed to ensure support for pregnant mothers – a key goal of the pro-life movement. According to the legislation, it aims to “eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.”

If it passes, employers with 15 or more employees would be required to make “reasonable accommodations” for employees with “pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions” unless the employer can show it would impose an undue hardship, according to the Catholic News Agency.

A spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) told CNA that it supports the U.S. Senate version of the bill that includes “key conscience protections for employers.” He said the bill is part of the USCCB’s “longstanding advocacy” for women, children and families in need.

But CatholicVote and some pro-life lawmakers said the House version of the bill, which is advancing in the Senate, does not include religious freedom protections.

Here’s more from CNA:

The [CatholicVote] quoted Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina: “If an employee working for a religious organization requests time off to have an abortion procedure, H.R. 1065 could require the organization to comply with this request as a reasonable accommodation of known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.”

In the Senate, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky expressed similar concerns, with a spokesperson telling CNA: “The bill could force religious employers to provide accommodations that arise from an abortion, which could violate the free exercise of their religious beliefs.”

Responding to concerns, a Republican Senate aide told CNA in a statement that “the legislation as introduced does not supersede current law protections for religious employers, which is why this legislation is endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.”