Congressman McCarthy on the HHS Announcement Regarding California's Discriminatory Abortion Law

Statement

Congressman Kevin McCarthy released the following statement on the announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights that California violated federal non-discrimination laws:

"Civil rights are for everyone, no matter your politics or faith. Yet California law discriminated against pro-life citizens, trying to make them complicit in the brutal injustice of abortion.

"Today the Office for Civil Rights found that California law violated federal non-discrimination laws by forcing pro-life pregnancy centers to promote abortion--an act of violence that contradicts these centers' healing mission.

"Together with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in NIFLA v. Becerra, this is yet another reminder that California's discriminatory law was wrong. Moreover, this marks the very first time the Weldon Amendment has been enforced under HHS's new Division on Conscience and Religious Freedom.

"President Trump, Secretary Azar and OCR Director Roger Severino should be commended for their steadfast leadership and dedication to protecting the civil rights of countless individuals. I will continue to work with the Administration to strengthen conscience and civil rights protections for all Americans."

BACKGROUND: In 2017, Congressman McCarthy and other Republican Members urged then-Secretary Tom Price to investigate Weldon Amendment violations across the country, including the California abortion mandate and AB 775.

In addition, last January, Congressman McCarthy spoke at the opening of the new HHS religious freedom division. He again urged the division to investigate civil rights abuses in California.

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