Press Releases

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Education and the Workforce Committee Vice Chair Mary Miller (R-IL) submitted a comment letter to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) urging the agency to revise its proposed rule that would allow abortions and abortion services to be covered in the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). 

In the letter, Foxx and Miller write: “The proposed rule defines ‘pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions’ to include ‘having or choosing not to have an abortion.’ … Abortion is not a medical condition related to pregnancy; it is the opposite. It terminates the pregnancy, tragically ending the life of an unborn child. Similarly, abortion is not related to childbirth; it ends the possibility of childbirth.”

The letter continues: “The congressional record emphasizes that the PWFA was intended to ensure employers provide reasonable, practical, simple accommodations to pregnant employees. Congress did not intend to make forays into controversial social policy by enacting the PWFA but instead intended to provide solutions to everyday workplace challenges.”

Foxx and Miller conclude: “EEOC’s final rule on the PWFA must conform with the statutory text and congressional intent. This would include removing abortion from the rule. The rule must also be workable for employers who will have to implement it.”

To read the full letter, click here.