Fired for getting pregnant? That just can’t be right
The election swept into power leaders who believe that our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom is a license to discriminate.
A leaked draft of a Trump administration executive order proposed a sweeping interpretation of “religious freedom” that would allow organizations and businesses to circumvent legal protections against discrimination. This proposal echoes a controversial plan in Indiana signed by now-Vice President Pence.
Discrimination for any reason is antithetical to true religious liberty, and it’s time for people of faith to raise their voices in opposition.
California is fighting back. It is because of our faith, not in spite of it, that Catholics for Choice support the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act (RHNDA), authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) and sponsored by NARAL Pro-Choice California and California Latinas for Reproductive Justice.
This important bill would protect workers from discrimination based on their personal reproductive health choices, such as whether we use birth control, use in-vitro fertilization or seek an abortion.
Our concerns are based on real threats. Across California, employers have attempted to impose their religious beliefs on workers’ private reproductive health decisions.
Financial aid specialist Teri James was fired from San Diego Christian College for becoming pregnant while she was unmarried. The San Francisco Archdiocese attempted to add a clause to teachers’ contracts that condemned same-sex relationships, premarital sex, sperm donation and assisted reproductive technologies.
The proposed non-discrimination act affirms that in California we respect everyone’s right to make personal medical decisions, no matter their faith or place of employment, and that no one should risk their ability to support their family for choosing the care that is best for them.
Religious freedom has two sides: freedom of religion and freedom from religion. It is about respecting an individual’s right to follow their own conscience in religious beliefs and practices as well as in moral decision making. These protections do not permit institutions or individuals to use their religion as a reason to discriminate.
Religious organizations should play by the same rules as everyone else, rather than expecting society to play by their rules. Punishing employees for private reproductive health decisions is not only reprehensible; it’s out of touch with how most individuals live their faith.
The vast majority of Americans engage in premarital sex. Ninety-nine percent of sexually active Catholics have used birth control. Seven in ten Americans believe the government has no business restricting women’s access to abortion.
The Reproductive Health NonDiscrimination Act does not mandate that employers change their beliefs. It simply asks them to not discriminate against women who make their own choices based on their own values.
Government must protect the right of all Americans—including employees of Catholic institutions—to make their own moral decisions about their health care. Sacrificing Californians’ access to reproductive health care and economic security to the religious views of a powerful few is not a fair trade. The non-discrimination act shows that California is on the right side of this debate.
It’s up to all of us to ensure that true religious liberty is not compromised for an influential minority. That is why Catholics for Choice joined with Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups to sign an interfaith letter urging the state legislature to support the proposal.
Exercising your individual conscience and making the best reproductive health decisions for yourself and your family shouldn’t put your livelihood at risk.
Whatever happens at the federal level, we must make sure that California maintains its commitment to reproductive freedom. We need to stem the tide, and the legislature can start by supporting the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act.