Congressman Jerrold Nadler today condemned a House Resolution that would allow employers in the District of Columbia to control the private, personal decisions of their employees. The resolution would overturn a DC law, the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act, which protects the reproductive rights and personal liberties of citizens from being religiously discriminated against.

“Today, this body may, with a single vote, strip over 650,000 American citizens of their essential liberty to make their own choices about their health care and their families,” said Congressman Nadler. “I challenge any member of this body to go home this weekend and explain that vote to your constituents and why they must now live under the yoke of their employer’s tyranny. The American people will not stand for it, and we must not stand for it today.”


Below is the full statement from Congressman Nadler regarding the Disapproval Resolution of the DC Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act:

“This nation is founded on two simple and powerful principles – liberty and equality.

“In the 18^th century, our founding fathers saw liberty as freedom from the dictates of a tyrannical government, and fought to the death to protect it. What they could not foresee is a modern form of tyranny – the tyranny of employers who seek to impose their beliefs on their employees and control their personal decisions.

“I am saddened that today my Republican colleagues are bringing up yet another bill to enable employers to control the private, personal decisions of their employees. Today, this body may, with a single vote, strip over 650,000 American citizens of their essential liberty to make their own choices about their health care and their families.  

“Make no mistake, the District of Columbia’s new law, the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act, is about liberty.

“We are not talking about an employer who objects to paying for insurance that covers contraception. DC passed this law to protect its citizens from an employer who tells a woman that she will be fired for using contraception, or for using in vitro fertilization to start a family, or for engaging in any other conduct that violates the employer’s religious beliefs. The D.C. law we are asked to overturn says your employer should not be able to impose his religious beliefs on you. You should not be fired because your religious beliefs differ from those of your employer. The D.C. law protects religious liberty. This resolution imposes religious coercion.

“Yet my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, who claim so vociferously to support freedom and liberty, stand here today and say to the American people, ‘you don’t have the right to make decisions about when and how you start a family. Your employer has the right to make those decisions for you.’

“I challenge any member of this body to go home this weekend and explain that vote to your constituents and why they must now live under the yoke of their employer’s tyranny. The American people will not stand for it, and we must not stand for it today.

“I urge my colleagues to vote no on this rule and no on the Disapproval Resolution. Send a strong message to the American people that freedom and liberty still exist in this country.”

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