CV NEWS FEED // A federal judge ruled this week that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may not force Catholic employers to accommodate abortion and IVF or to abide by Biden-era LGBT “anti-discrimination” rules.
The Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, and the Catholic Benefits Association (CBA) had sued over the regulations last year, arguing their enforcement under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act violated the religious freedom rights of Catholic groups.
“The US District Court for the District of North Dakota entered judgment Wednesday,” according to Bloomberg Law, “a day after Judge Daniel M. Traynor ruled that EEOC’s regulations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the enforcement guidance on workplace harassment would cause the Catholic Benefits Association and the Bismarck Diocese to violate their ‘sincerely held religious beliefs without satisfying strict scrutiny under the’ Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”
CBA hailed the decision as “a huge win” in a press release Wednesday evening, stating that the court “granted permanent protection from the EEOC’s efforts to force Catholic employers and others to accommodate abortion, IVF, or surrogacy, and to eliminate single-sex spaces and adopt preferred pronouns.”
“The fact that we have had to sue the government five times and won every single time clearly illustrates both the strength of our legal strategy and the misguided ideological nature of the efforts to undermine our faith-driven ministries,” said Doug Wilson, CEO of CBA. “This victory vindicates the rights of our over 9,000 members to pursue their ministries in service to others, according to our faith.”
“Guided by their Catholic faith, our members contribute innumerable hours and resources in service to society every year, out of love for Jesus Christ and our fellow man,” Wilson added. “This ruling lets us continue to serve without the threat of the EEOC persecuting us for following our faith.”
CBA’s press release pointed out that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops “supported the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act as it made its way through Congress because it was ‘pro-worker, pro-family and pro-life,’ according to a statement from Bishop Michael Burbidge.” The EEOC’s “interpretation of the Act,” however, “turned its intentions on its head by including accommodation for abortion and the other immoral aspects that CBA sued over.”
CBA also celebrated the free speech victory embedded in this week’s ruling.
“Going beyond the medical procedure aspects of the case, yesterday’s permanent injunction also addressed the speech aspects of the Enforcement Guidance that the EEOC issued on hostile work environments,” the Catholic group stated. “The decision states that the CBA and its members cannot be required to ‘refrain from speaking or communicating against the same [immoral matters] when such is contrary to the Catholic faith, use pronouns inconsistent with a person’s biological sex; or allow persons to use private spaces reserved for the opposite sex.’”
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