Action Alert
Tell Your Senators: Oppose the Workplace Religious Freedom Act
Background
The Workplace Religious Freedom Act (S. 893), introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support, is now being pushed toward a vote. While the AHA fully supports the American tradition of religious freedom, we cannot endorse this bill because it would legally sanction discrimination and place the rights of some over the rights of others.
By altering Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the bill requires that employers show deference for the religious needs of their workers, unless it would result in "significant difficulty or expense." The bill's broad language places both Humanists and people of minority faiths at risk of being subjected to proselytizing from the dominant religious groups in the workplace. Rather than protecting individual rights and freedoms, the bill egregiously allows some people to force their ideas on others.
The bill also seriously jeopardizes the wellbeing of American citizens. The broad language of the bill compromises health and safety by allowing healthcare workers to refuse to provide information and services related to family planning and HIV/AIDS treatment. Under the bill, police officers could also refuse to protect buildings if they had a moral objection to the tenant's activities--putting people like abortion clinic workers at risk.
This bill disregards existing civil rights law and employer nondiscrimination policy. While the AHA recognizes the importance of protecting religious freedoms, this bill attempts to do so at the expense of fundamental liberties.
Action
As members of the AHA we ask you to please contact your Senators and encourage them to oppose the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA) for the aforementioned reasons. You can reach them by calling the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121. The Senate website www.senate.gov also lists the direct office lines and email addresses for every Senator. It is important that Humanist voices are heard at this critical juncture.
When contacting your representative about WRFA, please communicate your position on two other important issues coming up at the end of the Congressional term. Urge your senator to vote NO on the Federal Marriage Amendment, because it's wrong to write discrimination into the Constitution and restrict the rights of some American citizens on the sole basis of their sexual orientation.
On July 15th, the Bush administration is expected to withhold funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which provides family planning, child health care, and HIV/AIDS prevention services in developing countries. Insist that your representative press the administration to fund this essential program.
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