{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wicker.senate.gov/2023/10/miss-lawmakers-call-out-biden-administration-s-extreme-abortion-agenda", "Miss. Lawmakers Call Out Biden Administration\u2019s Extreme Abortion Agenda", "2023-10-13", "2023", "2023-10", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Roger F. Wicker", "W000437", "www.wicker.senate.gov", "wicker", "https://www.wicker.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Senate Pro-Life Caucus Chair Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and U.S. Representatives Trent Kelly, R-Miss., and Michael Guest, R-Miss. this week signed a letter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sounding the alarm on the agency\u2019s attempt to impose an abortion mandate on employers through the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).\n\nSigned by 20 Senators and 41 House members, the letter asserts that the proposed rule not only goes against the text and purpose of the PWFA, but it also exceeds the EEOC\u2019s authority.\n\n\u201cAs Members of Congress, we support policies to ensure women are provided with access to necessary accommodations in the workplace during pregnancy to support the health of both the woman and her unborn child. This was the goal of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and we write to share our strong opposition to the illegal imposition of abortion mandates in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission\u2019s (EEOC) proposed regulations, published on August 11, 2023, to implement the PWFA,\u201d the members wrote.\n\nIn the proposed rule, the EEOC inaccurately determined abortion is included in the definition of \u201cpregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition.\u201d The rule would mandate employers provide a \u201creasonable accommodation\u201d for abortion, including paid leave, unpaid leave, or transfer to a position in another state, to seek an abortion at any stage in pregnancy up until birth, even for employers in states that prohibit most abortions.\n\n\u201cIn these regulations, the EEOC has moved far beyond the power delegated by Congress. The Commission was directed to implement a bipartisan law designed to provide accommodation protections for pregnant women in the workforce. Instead, it has sought to impose an unconstitutional nationwide abortion mandate on employers,\u201d the members continued. \u201cWe urge you to remove abortion mandates from the scope of this rule, protect employers with religious and moral objections, and finalize a rule that accurately reflects the congressional mandate to promote healthy pregnancies and childbirth, not abortion.\u201d\n\nU.S. Senator James Lankford, R-Okla., and U.S. Representative Chris Smith, R-N.J., coordinated the letter to EEOC Executive Officer Raymond Windmiller. It was submitted as a part of the public comment process on the EEOC proposed rule.\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nDear Mr. Windmiller:\n\nAs Members of Congress, we support policies to ensure women are provided with access to necessary accommodations in the workplace during pregnancy to support the health of both the woman and her unborn child. This was the goal of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and we write to share our strong opposition to the illegal imposition of abortion mandates in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission\u2019s (EEOC) proposed regulations, published on August 11, 2023, to implement the PWFA.\n\nWe urge the Commission to modify the regulations to reflect clear congressional intent by removing the abortion and other anti-life mandates from any final rule. The Commission must also clarify that pro-life and religious employers are exempt from making any accommodations under the PWFA that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.\n\nThe Pregnant Workers Fairness Act did not include abortion, and the EEOC has illegally imposed an abortion mandate.\n\nAbortion is not included under the PWFA. The exclusion of abortion is clear in the plain meaning of the Act\u2019s text, and the legislative intent has been reiterated by the sponsoring Members.\n\nThe PWFA was signed into law on December 29, 2022, through H.R. 2617, Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023. It requires employers with 15 or more employees to make \u201creasonable accommodations to the known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions\u201d of an employee. The accommodations in this bill are intended to help female employees maintain employment while supporting their health and the health of their babies during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as after involuntary loss through miscarriage and stillbirth.\n\nThe PWFA does not include abortion. In fact, abortion is antithetical to the Act\u2019s purpose because it is intentionally anti-pregnancy and anti-childbirth. Abortion is not health care. It ends the lives of unborn children through suction, dismemberment, or chemical poisoning, and it can lead to significant physical complications and mental health risks for women.\n\nThe bill sponsors further clarified that the bill was not intended to address abortion. During floor debate, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), the lead Democrat cosponsor in the Senate, said, \u201cI want to say for the record, however, that under the act, under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the EEOC could not \u2014 could not \u2014 issue any regulation that requires abortion leave, nor does the act permit the EEOC to require employers to provide abortion leave in violation of state law.\u201d Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the lead Republican cosponsor, said, \u201cI reject the characterization that [the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act] would do anything to promote abortion.\u201d\n\nThe EEOC has acted, without congressional authorization and directly contrary to congressional intent, to impose an abortion mandate on employers throughout the United States.\n\nDespite the Act not mentioning abortion once and clear congressional statements to the contrary, the EEOC has inaccurately claimed that abortion is included in the definition of \u201cpregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition.\u201d If finalized, the EEOC\u2019s Proposed Rule would now mandate that employers provide a \u201creasonable accommodation\u201d for abortion.\n\nSuch accommodations could include the use of paid leave, unpaid leave, or transfer to a position in another state, to seek an abortion at any stage in pregnancy up until birth, even for employers in States that prohibit most abortions. Employers could also be required to provide women seeking abortions with access to employer-provided transportation.\n\nCongress enacted a law to support mothers during pregnancy and childbirth, protecting and benefiting the health of the mother and her unborn child. Issuing regulations to implement this law that mandates employers facilitate abortions flips that pro-pregnancy, pro-childbirth law on its head. It neglects the plain text of the law, and if finalized, it would have the opposite intent of the bipartisan law Congress enacted. An abortion mandate for employers was not present in this legislation and has no place in any implementing regulations.\n\nThe Proposed Rule Exceeds EEOC Authority.\n\nThe PWFA delegated regulatory authority to the EEOC only to develop regulations to implement the goals defined in the PWFA. Promoting abortion is not one of those goals. Agencies may not issue regulations with vast political significance unless clearly directed by Congress, as the Supreme Court has affirmed under the major questions doctrine. The EEOC does not have the legal authority to create an abortion mandate for employers in defiance of statutory text and congressional intent.\n\nThe Proposed Rule Violates Religious Liberty.\n\nDuring consideration of the law, Congress deliberated protections for religious entities extensively. Based on the strong jurisprudence of the religious organizations exemption in Title VII, Congress tied Title VII\u2019s exemption to the entirety of the law through the rule of construction and concluded that such language would ensure the religious organization exemption in Title VII would apply to all accommodations and other claims covered by the law.\n\nFurther, in line with the statutory text, Congress continues to understand Title VII\u2019s religious exemption to \u201cencompass the entire employment relationship, not merely limited to hiring and firing.\u201d As Courts have held, in Title VII, Congress \u201cpainted with a broader brush, exempting religious organizations from the entire subchapter of Title VII with respect to employment of persons of a particular religion.\u201d\n\nTitle VII broadly defines religion to include \u201call aspects of religious observance and practice as well as belief.\u201d It is this broad understanding of religion that Congress had in mind when it included the religious organizations exemption to the PWFA. Congress intended the rule of construction to protect religious entities from making any accommodation that would conflict with any aspect of their religion. As such, the EEOC must make explicit in the final rule that any objection to an accommodation for an activity that conflicts with the entity\u2019s religion is to be respected and protected by the rule of construction.\n\nIn addition to the Title VII protections, the EEOC should also continue to recognize the application of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in its final rule. As the proposed rule acknowledges, RFRA applies to the underlying statute. Congress would have had to expressly exclude RFRA for RFRA\u2019s protections to be waived, which it did not. RFRA is an important shield for people and organizations from being forced to violate their faith, which will happen under the proposed expansive interpretation of this Act.\n\nThe Proposed Rule Ignores Conscience Objections.\n\nUnder the EEOC\u2019s proposal, the regulations would impose an abortion mandate on other employers who are pro-life based on religious or moral conviction but are not formally affiliated with a religious organization. It would force these employers to express views and to act in ways that violate their religious and moral convictions.\n\nIt would also violate the objecting employer\u2019s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expressive association by requiring them to inaccurately present abortion as health care and as comparable to pregnancy and childbirth.\n\nFurther demonstrating the EEOC\u2019s expansive interpretation exceeds statutory authority, there are no protections for pro-life employers and entities. The proposed rule includes abortion, contraception, and IVF while remaining silent on the implications this creates for individuals with moral, ethical, medical, or other objections.\n\nEven without the PWFA, many pro-life employers and organizations have already implemented employment practices that support pregnant mothers and their unborn children.\n\nThe proposed rule ignores the presence of the unborn child and instead steamrolls employers into promoting or being complicit with abortion and other items or actions employers may reasonably object to or even find antithetical to the organization\u2019s mission. This is not what Congress intended and not the PWFA Congress passed.\n\nThe EEOC must make it clear in the final rule that the undue hardship defense protects pro-life employers and entities from having to make accommodations that would be contrary to the mission of the organization.\n\nConclusion\n\nIn these regulations, the EEOC has moved far beyond the power delegated by Congress. The Commission was directed to implement a bipartisan law designed to provide accommodation protections for pregnant women in the workforce. Instead, it has sought to impose an unconstitutional nationwide abortion mandate on employers.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:49:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.wicker.senate.gov/2023/10/miss-lawmakers-call-out-biden-administration-s-extreme-abortion-agenda"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7533351201564074, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}