House leadership, at the behest of the most conservative members of Congress, has agreed to hold a vote that could overturn an anti-discrimination law passed by the District of Columbia's City Council that opponents believe is unfair to religious people,
The Daily Signal reports.
Passed in December, the intent of the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Act was to protect workers from discrimination based on their reproductive healthcare decisions, according to
The Washington Times.
But it has come under fire by conservatives who argue that it "would illegally require organizations to provide insurance coverage for abortions and other reproductive healthcare procedures regardless of whether they violate the organizations' religious beliefs."
"We exerted a lot of pressure in the last 48 hours to bring [the measure] to the floor," Texas Rep. Bill Flores told The Daily Signal, speaking on behalf of the Republican Study Committee, a group of 180 lawmakers.
"Fortunately, our leadership has come to the conclusion that it's the right thing to do," Flores said.
The D.C. Council last month voted unanimously to amend the law to clarify that "it didn't force employers to provide insurance coverage for abortions or other reproductive health care decisions they oppose on religious or moral grounds," according to the Times.
"This emergency amendment is meant to remove any ambiguity as to whether the law … would require employers to provide insurance coverage for reproductive healthcare to employees despite an employer's moral or religious objection," Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said.
Another council member, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who supports the law, said that "House Republicans are set on continuing their war on women, especially the women of the District of Columbia."
If the law is scrapped, employers in Washington, D.C., can "use religion to discriminate against employees for their private, constitutionally protected reproductive health decisions," she added.
The Congress is employing the seldom-used parliamentary maneuver known as a "resolution of disapproval," which allows lawmakers the authority to review all legislation passed by the District of Columbia and overrule it.
In order to do so, it must win the support of the House, the Senate and the president, according the Daily Signal.
The House vote is scheduled for Friday, just before the May 4 deadline to act before the law takes effect. The Senate has not scheduled a vote. President Barack Obama would weigh in if the law passes the Senate.
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