Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN), Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), and 46 other members of Congress submitted an amicus brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), arguing that the Biden Administration illegally hijacked the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) to force all employers nationwide—including faith-based or religious organizations—to accommodate employee abortions.

                In the amicus brief, the 50 Republican lawmakers explain that the intent of the bipartisan PWFA was to provide robust protections and accommodations for women expecting a child and postpartum women in the workplace; however, despite the fact that the law does not include any references to abortion, the Biden-era EEOC issued a Final Rule that expanded the PWFA’s definition of “medical conditions” and mandated all employers throughout the United States to accommodate employee abortions.

                “Flouting the law Congress passed, the EEOC transformed the PWFA into a draconian national abortion-accommodations mandate that tramples the conscience rights of those who object to abortion, including some of the very faith-based organizations that supported the PWFA,” the co-signatories write.

                The authors continue, “Congress included a religious exemption in the PWFA, guaranteeing that no religious employer would have to violate its faith. But by interpreting the religious exemption narrowly and medical justifications for abortion broadly, the Final Rule fundamentally repurposes the PWFA into an unprecedented instrument of radical abortion policy.”

                Throughout the brief, the 37 Representatives and 13 Senators argue that the EEOC required, yet bypassed, congressional authorization to enforce its Final Rule, describing how “the EEOC contorted the PWFA into a radical revision of national policy on one of the most contentious issues in America today.” Moreover, they explain how Congress specifically chose “not to link the PWFA’s definition of ‘medical condition’ to the definition in other statutes” that could potentially create loopholes for abortion.

                “The intent and text of the PWFA are clear: to ensure healthy pregnancies by supporting women with pregnancy-related medical conditions both during and after their pregnancy. The EEOC ignored the statute and substituted its views on abortion for those of Congress, injecting abortion politics into a law designed to help mothers healthily carry their child to term,” the lawmakers conclude.

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