FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2021
Contact: Prudence Robertson, [email protected] | 240-672-2828
House Democrats’ Bill Would Force Pro-life Health Care Workers to Participate in Abortions
Washington, D.C. – Today the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) issued the following statement ahead of the U.S. House of Representatives vote on H.R. 5:
“The deceptively named ‘Equality Act’ is the latest push by House Democrats to expand taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, against the will of the people,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “This Trojan horse legislation makes a mockery of equality by enshrining a ‘right’ to abortion, the greatest violation of human rights today.
“Catering to the most extreme elements of the abortion lobby, the bill’s definition of sex discrimination equates abortion with pregnancy and childbirth. If Democrats succeed in rolling back even modest pro-life protections, health care workers and institutions will be forced to participate in abortions. We urge every member of Congress to reject this assault on the unborn and conscience rights.”
SBA List sent a letter to members of Congress opposing H.R. 5 and indicating its intent to score the vote.
As the letter explains, H.R. 5 amends the Civil Rights Act by adding “pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition” to the definition of “sex,” which courts have interpreted broadly to include abortion. In Doe v. C.A.R.S., the 3rd Circuit ruling specifically states, “We now hold that the term ‘related medical condition’ includes an abortion.” In addition, H.R. 5 adds any “establishment that provides health care” to the list of entities that must meet the public accommodation requirements of the Civil Rights Act and stipulates that any attempt to withhold such services constitutes discrimination, while explicitly blocking existing avenues for conscientious objection claims under federal law.
A recent analysis of the “Equality Act” by Richard M. Doerflinger, M.A., an associate scholar with SBA List’s research arm, Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), reads in part:
“Among other things this bill attacks the lives of countless unborn children, endangers Catholic and other pro-life health care providers, provides a basis for rescinding all state and federal limits on public funding of abortion, and treats religious believers as second-class citizens who must violate their fundamental moral convictions to serve the goals of the pro-abortion movement.”
SBA List is a network of 900,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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