With no interest in supporting pregnant people’s health from leadership in Pennsylvania, advocates turn to the U.S. Congress to pass these urgently needed protections. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey is the sponsor and lead champion of the federal PWFA.
Earlier this week, Women’s Law Project and dozens of organizations and individuals from across Pennsylvania sent an open letter to Senator Casey urging him to work with Senate leadership to bring the PWFA to a vote this month.
An excerpt:
Last May, we were thrilled when the PWFA passed the U.S. House 315 – 101. In August, it quickly passed out of the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which meant the bill was ready to be scheduled for a full Senate vote and final passage.
But now, another year has passed. Where’s the vote? What is holding it up?
It is our understanding that Senate leaders have the ability to bring the bill to the floor at any time and the bill has sufficient votes to pass. The Senate’s delay is difficult to comprehend and accept especially since pregnant people need PWFA’s protections now more than ever.
You have been one of PWFA’s strongest champions from the very beginning and we are grateful for your leadership. We urge you to redouble your efforts in this critical moment.
Read the whole letter here then go here to email Senator Casey urging him to work to pass the PWFA this month!
Thank you to all the advocates who signed on.
Why We’re State-Based Advocates Calling on U.S. Congress instead of the General Assembly
As explained in our recent op-ed, advocates have been calling on General Assembly leadership to pass the state version of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act for the last decade, with no success.
Pennsylvania’s anti-abortion lawmakers have also refused to pass legislation that would allow new mothers to express breast milk using unpaid time, promote legislation that would increase already-skyrocketing maternal mortality, and fund anti-abortion activists targeting poor pregnant women for “abortion pill reversal,” a practice medical experts call “unmonitored experimentation,” with public money meant for low-income pregnant people and children.
If you pay attention to reproductive health policy in Pennsylvania, you know that the anti-abortion lawmakers are working to eliminate our state-based reproductive rights to pave the way to banning abortion while simultaneously refusing to ensure pregnant people are allowed to have extra water at work. In part due to this inaction, pregnancy discrimination complaints are rising in Pennsylvania while decreasing across the country as most other states have already passed this legislation.
The message could not be clearer: Pennsylvania’s anti-abortion lawmakers do not care about the health or lives of pregnant Pennsylvanians. They only care about forcing them to give birth.
Need Help Figuring Out Pregnancy or Lactation Accommodations in the Workplace?
WLP recently expanded our Legal Navigator program, a legal service intended to help pregnant Pennsylvanians navigate pregnancy in the workplace. The WLP Legal Navigator Program is focused on early intervention, education, and assistance to ensure more pregnant and lactating workers and students in Pennsylvania can maintain a healthy pregnancy and employment or education with minimal disruption.
Learn more about the WLP Legal Navigator program here.
Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing and defending the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond. As a non-profit organization, we can not do this work without you. Please consider supporting our work.
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