Matter of rights

Legislation to protect California workers from discrimination based on their reproductive choices faces a key test in the state Senate on Wednesday.

AB569, by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, would assure that workers could not be disciplined or fired if they became pregnant, had an abortion or attempted in-vitro fertilization.

This is not an abstract debate. A single woman teaching at a Christian college in San Diego was fired when she became pregnant in 2012. San Franciscans will recall a 2015 attempt by the archdiocese to impose a “morality clause” that called on faculty members to follow the church’s teachings on matters ranging from contraception to same-sex marriage.

Under AB569, such codes of conduct could not intrude on an employee’s ability to make her or his “own reproductive health care decisions, including the use of a particular drug, device or medical service.”

The proposal, which cleared the Assembly on a 54-17 vote, has encountered resistance from some religious groups that regard it as a violation of the First Amendment. However, it is important to note that the church opposition is not universal. The California Council of Churches, which represents certain Protestant and Orthodox denominations, supports AB569. Its view is that restrictions on an individual’s ability to make his or her own moral judgment is a greater threat to religious freedom.

Next stop for the legislation is the Senate’s Labor and Industrial Relations Committee.

While the battle between “religious liberty” and LGBT and reproductive rights has been more pervasive in other states, California lawmakers should seize the opportunity to protect its citizenry from discrimination. They should send AB569 to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.