Court blocks federal government from enforcing abortion rule against Catholic bishops

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 5, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).

A federal court has blocked the government from enforcing an abortion accommodation rule against the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and other Catholic entities as a lawsuit over the provision plays out. 

The abortion rule, finalized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in April 2024, forces employers to provide accommodations for workers to obtain or recover from abortions, surrogacy, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, all three of which conflict with Catholic teaching.

Under the Sept. 3 court order issued by Judge David Joseph, the EEOC is prohibited from enforcing the final rule in any way that would force the bishops and the other Catholic entities to accommodate actions that are “in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs.”

The order states that the EEOC cannot launch investigations against the bishops or the other entities based on a refusal to provide accommodations for procedures that conflict with Catholic teaching.

The block will remain in place until the lawsuit against the EEOC challenging the rule concludes.

Daniel Blomberg, vice president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and lead attorney for the bishops in the case, told CNA the court order is in line with what the bishops had requested.

He said the EEOC had previously “agreed to not enforce the mandate” on the bishops and other Catholic entities but had not agreed to the court-ordered injunction. He said the injunction requested by the bishops and provided by the court “memorializes the agreement.”

CNA reached out to the EEOC for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The bishops’ lawsuit continues

The EEOC imposed this rule as part of the regulatory framework for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, adopted by Congress and signed by former President Joe Biden in 2024.

The law itself, which makes no mention of abortion, requires employers to provide workplace accommodations to women for limitations caused by pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.

Under the Biden-era regulations that enforce the law, the EEOC determined that related medical conditions included “having or choosing not to have an abortion.” The regulation only provided religious exemptions on a case-by-case basis, which would be determined after accommodation requests were denied.

Blomberg pointed out that the bishops “were very supportive” of the law itself because they believed it would “protect [pregnant women] and lead to healthier moms and healthier babies.” 

Yet the EEOC “turned that protection for pregnant women into a mandate for abortion,” he said, and the bishops and many other organizations were forced to file lawsuits to maintain religious liberty protections threatened by the subsequent regulation.

The lawsuit to determine the legality of the mandate is still ongoing. The bishops’ challenge to the abortion accommodation rule is in front of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The bishops’ challenge to accommodation rules related to surrogacy, IVF, contraception, and other practices that conflict with Catholic teaching are in front of a federal district court. 

Blomberg said the bishops are “challenging the understanding that the [law] itself requires any sort of accommodation for abortion.” 

“We think that’s completely not right,” he said.

If the law were enforced, Blomberg explained religious workplaces would need to change their internal policies. He noted that the rule would also prevent religious employees from promoting pro-life values in the workplace because “there can’t be any sort of pressure or coercion, even by other employee speech in the ministry.”

A violation would be treated the same as any other employment discrimination case, such as through court-ordered injunctions or forcing employers to pay monetary damage for refusing to accommodate abortions.

The Sept. 3 court order expands on a previous court order that had only blocked the EEOC from enforcing the abortion accommodation against the bishops when the abortion is considered elective. 

Under the previous order, the bishops would have still needed to accommodate abortions when justified by medical conditions that included “minor” anxiety, depression, nausea, and changes in hormone levels caused by the pregnancy.

Under the current order, however, bishops are now exempt from accommodating all abortions and other practices that violate Catholic teaching.

The bishops, Blomberg said, “are protected for the time being.”

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266383/court-blocks-federal-government-from-enforcing-abortion-rule-against-catholic-bishops