As you may recall, Democrats in both the House and Senate are set on abolishing the Hyde Amendment. Hyde ensures that no taxpayer dollars are spent on abortion and, before this year, was a welcomed bipartisan amendment included in packages that fund the government. But allowing the government to fund abortion isn’t enough for the 117th Congress. They are now attempting to use the Paycheck Fairness Act or S. 205 to mandate employer-sponsored health insurance coverage of elective abortions.
S. 205 amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 by adding “pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition” to the definition of “sex.” In essence, this legislation could be interpreted to force employers to cover elective abortion under the guise of fairness. To protect against this, the legislation needs to include additional language providing safeguards against elective abortion coverage.
In addition, the Paycheck Fairness Act is redundant. Both the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 make it unlawful to discriminate based on gender and ensure that men and women are paid equally for equal work. In addition, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interpreted “wages” to include “benefits.”
As we previously stated before, statistics show that overall, women make 82 cents on the dollar compared to men. It is vital to remember the reasons contributing to this pay gap. A study found that the vast majority of women value a flexible schedule and job security over higher future earnings. Women are also more likely than men to work part-time or take more time off to raise a family. Mandating “equal pay” would discourage businesses from allowing creative benefits for women by issuing a one-size-fits-all approach and eliminating choice.
In closing, S. 205 hurts women and offers Democrats another opportunity to make abortion on demand the law of the land. Please join Eagle Forum in asking your Senators to vote NO on S. 205, the Paycheck Fairness Act.
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