Central Louisiana News

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) has expressed his support for the State of Louisiana's lawsuit against the Biden administration, accusing it of unlawfully incorporating abortion politics into its enforcement regulations of the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Louisiana is not alone in this legal endeavor; Mississippi has also joined the fight against the Biden administration. In a similar vein, Tennessee and 16 other states have filed comparable litigation in the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Dr. Cassidy explained that "The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is meant to assist pregnant mothers who remain in the workforce by choice or necessity as they bring their child to term and recover after childbirth." He further added that it defies common sense and Congress' intent for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to continue incorporating abortion into a law specifically designed to promote healthy childbirth.

The senator voiced his appreciation for Louisiana and other states taking action to compel the Biden administration to implement the law as passed by Congress. The PWFA was enacted with an aim to protect pregnant women and provide them with necessary tools to maintain healthy pregnancies while working. However, according to critics, EEOC's regulation unjustly manipulates PWFA by compelling all employers to provide leave and other accommodations for abortions or abortion-related activities. This obligation applies even if state law prohibits elective abortions or if employers have moral or religious objections to abortion.

PWFA originally garnered strong bipartisan support with clear intent from both Republican and Democrat senators that abortion could not be included in EEOC’s regulations. Recently, Senator Cassidy condemned the Biden administration for its inclusion of abortion politics in the final regulation and has continually called for those provisions to be removed.