Religious entities will no longer be compelled to pay for abortions in their employee insurance plans, ruled Judge Roseann Ketchmark of the U.S. District Court in Missouri. This landmark decision interprets the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Upon returning to power, President Trump immediately reinstated the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions.
Pro-Abortion Biden
As Vatican News recalls, the PWFA, enacted in 2022, requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant employees. However, last fall, the Biden administration, through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), proposed a regulation that would include “deciding to have or not to have an abortion” under the definition of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.”
This decision faced sharp opposition from conservative politicians, including Republican Congresswomen Virginia Foxx and Mary Miller. They emphasized that the PWFA does not mention abortion, and lawmakers who passed it clearly stated that it does not obligate employers to support or fund abortions.
Key Lawsuit
Last year, several states and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed a lawsuit to block the new regulation for employers who oppose participating in abortion. Among the plaintiffs were the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Catholic Benefits Association, and the Stanley M. Herzog Foundation, a religious non-profit organization focused on education. The plaintiffs obtained a temporary injunction against the new rules.
On Tuesday, Judge Ketchmark ruled that the Herzog Foundation has a strong chance of winning the case, arguing that the EEOC’s administrative order violates the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). On this basis, the organization does not have to comply with regulations requiring the inclusion of abortion in insurance plans.
Pushed for On-Demand Abortion
The Biden administration sought to increase funding for abortions from public funds, facilitate access to abortion pills, and require doctors to perform abortions in certain situations under the federal EMTALA law.
Meanwhile, President Trump, upon returning to power, immediately reinstated the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions, and the Mexico City Policy (which bans NGOs from using taxpayer dollars for elective abortions abroad).