Specifically, the Do No Harm Act
would limit the use of RFRA in cases involving discrimination, child
labor and abuse, wages and collective bargaining, access to health care,
public accommodations,
and social services provided through government contract.
“When Congress
passed RFRA in 1993, the goal was to protect religious freedom for
minority groups by requiring the government to demonstrate a compelling
interest and to use a policy that was the least restrictive
means,” said Congressman Bobby Scott. “Since then, the law has
been misconstrued as allowing the sincerely-held religious beliefs of
one person to trump the civil rights of others. Civil rights are a
compelling government interest, and we cannot allow
so-called ‘religious freedom,’ ‘religious liberty’ or ‘faith-based
initiatives’ to invalidate the very laws designed to correct the
generations of injustices inflicted on minorities. The Do No Harm Act
restores the original intent of RFRA.”
“The right of Americans to freely and fully express our faith is sacred in this country,” said
Congressman Joe Kennedy III. “But in order to guarantee that
liberty for every citizen, our system must ensure that my religious
freedom does not infringe on yours or do you harm. While not its
original intent, the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act has become a vehicle for those
seeking to impose their beliefs on others or claim that the tenants of
their faith justify discrimination. The
Do No Harm Act will restore the balance between our right to religious freedom and our promise of equal protection under law.”
In 1993, Congress passed the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act in response to a Supreme Court
case undermining the rights of religious minorities. But in recent
years, the misapplication of RFRA has been used to deny health care
coverage for employees, claim exemptions to civil rights
law, and complicate justice in child labor and abuse cases.
More after the cut.
“Religious liberty is a core American value, enshrined in our Constitution and deserving of protection,” said
Carmel Martin, Executive Vice President of Policy at the Center for American Progress. “When passed in 1993, the federal
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (or RFRA) offered a necessary
corrective to the 1990 Smith decision that had stripped away the
constitutionally-protected right to free exercise of religion. However,
recent lawsuits and federal court decisions, such
as the Supreme Court’s 2014 Hobby Lobby v. Burwell decision,
have created an overly broad interpretation of the law and have allowed
RFRA to be used in ways that actually restrict religious liberty by
imposing beliefs on others and occasioning meaningful
harm to third parties. Congress should act to ensure that RFRA is not
inappropriately used to violate the rights of others.”
“Religious freedom is one of the founding principles of this nation, and the
Do No Harm Act would ensure that this principle isn’t twisted into a license to discriminate,” said
Wade Henderson, President & CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
“As states across the country attempt to codify discrimination into
law, it’s especially important that the federal government once again
declare that there can be no religious exemption from basic human
dignity.”
“Americans United has always fought for the fundamental American value of religious freedom,” said
Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “In 1993, we joined conservatives and progressives to support the passage of the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act because we believed it would
protect real religious liberty, especially for those of minority faiths.
We are troubled, however, that over the years, RFRA has been
misconstrued and exploited to justify discrimination
and to deny others their rights. That is why today we support the Do No Harm Act because it preserves RFRA’s power to protect religious liberty but also clarifies that RFRA may not be used to harm others.”
“From Indiana to
North Carolina; from Georgia to Mississippi, a number of right wing
extremist legislators have tried to obfuscate the intent of the federal
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which
was enacted in 1993 to address a series of legal cases which together
chiseled away the protections guaranteed by the First Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution to safeguard traditional Native Americans and other
religious minorities in our country,” said
Mr. Hilary O. Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and the Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy. “Indeed,
the implementation of these new laws protect only the bigoted biases of
those who wish to discriminate against people in the
name of their so-called “religious beliefs” who simply want to do
business fairly and justly, or use public facilities. The NAACP stands
solidly with Congressman Kennedy and Congressman Scott and others in
calling for immediate action on this important legislation.”
“Religious freedom gives us the right to our beliefs, but not to harm others,” said
Louise Melling, Deputy Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “The
Do No Harm Act would place much needed limitations on RFRA, so
that it can be used as a shield for religious exercise but no longer as a
sword. With the
Do No Harm Act, RFRA could no longer be invoked to justify
discrimination, denial of health care, or other harms. We at the ACLU
are proud to stand in support of this legislation.”
“Religious freedom
is a core American value. However, religious freedom claims should never
be used as a guise for unfair and unjust treatment that undercut other
people's fundamental rights,” said
David Stacy, Government Affairs Director of the Human Rights Campaign. “We
commend Representatives Kennedy and Scott for introducing this
critically important legislation that will preserve the core protections
of the federal RFRA, while ensuring that
it cannot be used to violate essential non-discrimination protections
for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.”
“The National Women’s Law Center did not support the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act because of concerns about how it could be misused and result in harm to women,” said
Gretchen Borchelt, Vice President of Reproductive Rights and Health at the National Women’s Law Center. “Unfortunately, that fear has become a reality. The Supreme Court’s
Hobby Lobby decision permitted bosses to deny women critical
birth control coverage, and efforts to use RFRA as a justification to
discriminate have gained new life since that decision. There have been
attempts to use RFRA to challenge laws that protect
women, LGBTQ individuals, and students from discrimination; protect
employees by allowing them to unionize; promote public health by
requiring vaccinations; and require pharmacies to fill lawful
prescriptions. That is why the National Women’s Law Center supports
the Do No Harm Act. The Do No Harm Act ensures that RFRA
cannot be used to undermine basic civil rights and liberties, and
stands for the principle that religion should never be used to
discriminate or to harm others.”
“Increasingly,
religion is being used to justify discrimination against women and
families, in health care and in the workplace,” said
Debra L. Ness, President of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
“We commend Representatives Joe Kennedy and Bobby Scott for
introducing the Do No Harm Act and leading efforts to make clear that
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act’s protections
of the exercise of religion cannot be used to deny women access to
reproductive health care or other services, or undermine civil rights
protections.”
"I am delighted to offer my strong support for the Do No Harm Act," said
Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-1), Co-Chair of the Equality
Caucus. "No religious tradition has as a central tenet or core belief
that you should deny services to someone because of their gender
identity or sexual orientation. The Do No Harm Act
makes clear that religion can never be used as a legal justification
for discrimination against LGBT individuals." The House of
Representative LGBT Equality Caucus has endorsed the
Do No Harm Act.
The legislation has
received support from the following advocacy and expert organizations:
AFL-CIO, American Civil Liberties Union, Anti-Defamation League,
Americans United for the Separation of Church and
State, Bend the Arc, Catholics for Choice, Center for American
Progress, Center for Reproductive Rights, Congressional Equality Caucus,
Disciples Justice Action Network, Equal Partners in Faith, Equality
Federation, Family Equality Council, Friends Committee
on National Legislation, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, Gay,
Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Guttmacher Institute, Hindu
American Foundation, Human Rights Campaign, In Our Own Voice: National
Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Interfaith
Alliance, Lambda Legal, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law,
Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, NARAL, National
Abortion Federation, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National
Center for Transgender Equality, National Latina
Institute for Reproductive Health, National LGBTQ Task Force, National
Partnership for Women and Families, National Women’s Law Center, Parents
and Families of Lesbians and Gays, Planned Parenthood, Reproductive
Health Technologies Project, Services and Advocacy
for GLBT Elders, Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US,
Trevor Project, and Unitarian Universalist Association.
For a full list of quotes from each supporting organization,
please click here.
For full text of the Do No Harm Act
please click here.