Abortion is the new commie in the woodpile
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) once suggested that restaurant workers washing their hands after using the toilet should not be government-regulated. Handwashing policy should be left up to individual businesses, he quipped. Diners could then choose whether to eat at establishments that did not have one. The free Market would do the rest.
Last Thursday, Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) asked unimous consent to advance the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) by roll call vote. The legislation would “ensure pregnant workers receive accommodations like water bottles, stools, and bathroom breaks.”
But Tillis objected. The legislation might provide women with “leave to obtain abortions on demand, under the guise of pregnancy-related conditions,” Tillis worried aloud and held up passage of the bipartisan bill.
Kylie Cheung of Jezebel grants Tillis points for creativity. There is nothing in the PWFA about abortion:
Unfortunately, Tillis isn’t the only one spreading misinformation about PWFA. The anti-abortion group CatholicVote has also erroneously claimed it could “force” employers to pay for abortion-related expenses. In the House, Rep. Virginia Foxx of (R-NC) expressed similar concerns, as did Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in a statement to the anti-abortion publication Catholic News Agency on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Paul claimed the bill “could force religious employers to provide accommodations that arise from an abortion, which could violate the free exercise of their religious beliefs.”
Abortion is the GOP’s new voter fraud, the new commie in the woodpile. Conservatives find it everywhere they look.
Choice is a squishy concept for conservatives. Choices that make the Market work cannot be allowed when women make choices religious conservatives dislike.
But companies that fail to provide accomodations for pregnant women? Well, let the Market decide if that’s a place women choose to work. If it would work for handwashing, it would work for pregnancy. Hey, and for workplace safety. Buh-bye, OSHA.
Sarcasm is beyond their comprehension.