Equality Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this bill.

Despite its name, this bill is not about equality. It does attack religious freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of association, and all the important rights recognized in the First Amendment. This bill is about forcing the ideas and beliefs of the far left on all Americans. It is about government control over every aspect of your life. It is a remnant from the scrap heap of failed legislation from yesteryear.

I believe that all Americans should be treated equally and respected, but this bill does not do that.

There are lots of concerns to have with this bill, but today, I am going to just highlight two.

First, this bill will have a serious and deadly consequence for unborn children. It expands abortion and undoes current Federal law that prohibits the use of Federal funds for abortion. It does so by adding to include ``pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition,'' which has been recognized by courts and the EEOC to mean abortion, to the definition of sex.

I am reminded of when I used to work at the United Nations and would attend conferences throughout the world. The code language in the United Nations documents, in international law, was enforced pregnancy. That meant abortion. That meant you could not proscribe abortion. This bill takes that same tack.

This bill also states that pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition shall not receive less favorable treatment than other physical conditions. That is that same tack that is in international documents. This means that abortion cannot be treated differently than other medical conditions, and therefore abortion will be protected by our civil rights laws. That is not about equality; that is about expanding abortion.

Secondly, this bill will negatively impact all Americans whose religious beliefs influence their actions. This bill makes crystal clear that an individual's religious beliefs do not matter, as my colleague from Ohio just referred to. This bill specifically prevents Americans from relying on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was a bipartisan bill in 1993 signed by President Clinton.

This bill says specifically the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 shall not provide a claim concerning or defense to a claim under a covered title or provide a basis for challenging the application or enforcement of a covered title.

How can you say with a straight face that this bill does not impede or stomp on someone's right of conscience or right of religious worship? It is set forth. It is specific. Who can deny that?

This bill, if enacted, will mean that Americans will not be able to act in accordance with their religious beliefs. They will be forced to set their religious beliefs aside or face consequences. This is unacceptable. This is un-American.

For these and many other reasons, I oppose this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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