The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission cannot force pro-life groups to accommodate abortions, a federal judge ruled. Under the Biden Administration, the EEOC issued regulations that required employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for employees seeking abortions. The EEOC issues the regulations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Prior to the bill’s passage, some pro-life groups had warned the Biden administration would interpret the language in a pro-abortion way, but the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops backed it anyway, as previously reported by the Human Life Review.

Now, groups including the Catholic Benefits Association have won a reprieve from the rules.

Federal Judge Daniel Traynor ruled in favor of the CBA and the Diocese of Bismack, North Dakota, in mid-April.

The April 15 permanent injunction prevents the federal government from “interpreting or enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and any implementing regulations” against the plaintiffs “in a manner that would require them to accommodate abortion or infertility treatments that are contrary to the Catholic faith, speak in favor of the same or refrain from speaking against the same.”

The ruling also protects the religious freedom rights of the entities when it comes to gender ideology. Judge Traynor ruled the federal government cannot “require them to speak or communicate in favor of abortion, fertility treatments, or gender transition when such is contrary to the Catholic faith.”

The injunction also bars the federal government from requiring the entities to “refrain from speaking or communicating against the same when such is contrary to the Catholic faith, use pronouns inconsistent with a person’s biological sex; or allow persons to use private spaces reserved for the opposite sex.”

While this ruling only applies to these groups in North Dakota, it is a positive sign for legal pushback against the regulations. Furthermore, the Trump administration may be able to issue new regulations that further protect religious liberty and provide greater protections for similar groups.

The First Amendment, and the federal Religious Freedom of Restoration Act, protects the rights of religious entities to live out their faith in the public square.

No group should be forced to “accommodate” someone’s abortion. Finally, it is a disservice to pregnant women to act like abortion helps them in the same way longer breaks or changing their responsibilities to include less physical activity does. Pregnant women and new moms deserve actual support to help them, not to be told abortion is an answer.