DC bill could coerce pro-life organizations against their mission
ADF attorney to testify Monday before DC Council committee
Friday, Jun 20, 2014
Attorney sound bite: Casey Mattox
WHO: ADF Senior Counsel Casey Mattox
WHAT: Testimony during hearing on Bill 20-790, the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act
WHEN: Monday, June 23 at 11 a.m. EDT
WHERE: Council of the District of Columbia Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, John A. Wilson Building, Room 412, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, or watch live video feed, if available
WASHINGTON — Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Casey Mattox will testify Monday before the District of Columbia Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety on the problems with the proposed Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act. The bill prohibits employers from engaging in “discrimination” against employees for their use of or views on “reproductive health” and may be intended to force employers to provide health insurance for elective abortion regardless of the employers’ religious beliefs or personal convictions.
ADF sent the council a letter Friday on behalf of eight pro-life organizations in the District. The letter explains that the proposed bill is unconstitutional and violates federal law.
“Americans must be free to exercise their constitutionally protected liberties without fear of punishment,” said Mattox. “The government has no business bullying pro-life organizations into hiring people who are opposed to its mission or forcing any employer to pay for abortions.”
The ADF letter explains that the bill “would punish pro-life nonprofit organizations who make their home in the District, serve and employ its residents, and work to encourage respect for the sanctity of human life in our nation’s capital. The bill is unconstitutional and a patent violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”
The ADF letter also explains that the pro-life message “would be undermined were the organizations required to hire persons who advocate for abortion or otherwise act in contravention of the organization’s mission.”
“Just as a nonprofit organization supporting abortion might believe it necessary to ensure that its employees were not participating in the March for Life or other pro-life activism, or an organization advocating for veganism might believe its message cannot be effectively communicated by someone who eats meat, a pro-life organization must be free to choose to expend its resources to employ those whose words and actions uphold and do not detract from the organization’s mission,” the letter states.
In addition to ADF, the signers of the letter include Americans United for Life, March for Life, Susan B. Anthony List, Lozier Institute, Concerned Women for America, National Right to Life Committee, and Family Research Council.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
WASHINGTON — Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Casey Mattox will testify Monday before the District of Columbia Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety on the problems with the proposed Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act. The bill prohibits employers from engaging in “discrimination” against employees for their use of or views on “reproductive health” and may be intended to force employers to provide health insurance for elective abortion regardless of the employers’ religious beliefs or personal convictions.ADF sent the council a letter Friday on behalf of eight pro-life organizations in the District. The letter explains that the proposed bill is unconstitutional and violates federal law.
“Americans must be free to exercise their constitutionally protected liberties without fear of punishment,” said Mattox. “The government has no business bullying pro-life organizations into hiring people who are opposed to its mission or forcing any employer to pay for abortions.”
The ADF letter explains that the bill “would punish pro-life nonprofit organizations who make their home in the District, serve and employ its residents, and work to encourage respect for the sanctity of human life in our nation’s capital. The bill is unconstitutional and a patent violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”
The ADF letter also explains that the pro-life message “would be undermined were the organizations required to hire persons who advocate for abortion or otherwise act in contravention of the organization’s mission.”
“Just as a nonprofit organization supporting abortion might believe it necessary to ensure that its employees were not participating in the March for Life or other pro-life activism, or an organization advocating for veganism might believe its message cannot be effectively communicated by someone who eats meat, a pro-life organization must be free to choose to expend its resources to employ those whose words and actions uphold and do not detract from the organization’s mission,” the letter states.
In addition to ADF, the signers of the letter include Americans United for Life, March for Life, Susan B. Anthony List, Lozier Institute, Concerned Women for America, National Right to Life Committee, and Family Research Council.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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