The National Association of Evangelicals joined with 15 other organizations that have offices in Washington, D.C., to ask Congress to protect religious freedom and freedom of conscience in D.C. by disapproving the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014 and the Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014 during the congressional review period.

Dear Senator,

We, the undersigned, represent national and local religious institutions and organizations and pro-life advocacy organizations, all of which have offices in the District of Columbia, that serve and speak on behalf of millions of people across the United States. Most of us do not engage in the city’s legislative affairs, but we must do so now with one voice against two recently enacted laws that are unprecedented assaults upon our organizations. Both laws violate the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of association protected by the First Amendment and other federal law.

The Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014 prevents religious institutions, other faith-based employers, and pro-life advocacy organizations from making employment decisions consistent with their sincerely held religious beliefs or their moral and ethical views about the sanctity of human life. For example, the law requires our organizations to hire or retain individuals whose speech or public conduct contradicts the organizations’ missions, and could be read to require our organizations to subsidize elective abortions through their employee health plans. The law plainly violates the First Amendment, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA), and possibly other federal laws and clearly contradicts the Supreme Court’s recent, unanimous ruling in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Church and School v. EEOC.

The law would also infringe the right of expressive association for both religious and non-religious pro-life nonprofit organizations. New emergency and temporary legislation proposed by the Council of the District of Columbia may address constitutional deficiencies with regard to insurance coverage if the measures are enacted, but the measures fail to resolve the “serious concerns under the Constitution and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act” that the outgoing Mayor and D.C. Office of the Attorney General have acknowledged. Defending this law would be a waste of federal and local taxpayer funds.

The Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014 requires religiously affiliated educational institutions to endorse, sponsor, and provide school resources to persons or groups that oppose the institutions’ religious teachings regarding human sexuality. In doing so, the law violates the First Amendment and RFRA on similar grounds.

Justices Alito and Kagan wrote in their concurrence in Hosanna-Tabor that “it is easy to forget that the autonomy of religious groups… has often served as a shield against oppressive civil laws.” While we will continue to serve the city and the nation, we cannot surrender the constitutional freedoms that the Framers of the U.S. Constitution rightly reserved to all of us.

Therefore we respectfully request that you disapprove both the Reproductive Health NonDiscrimination Amendment Act of 2014 and Human Rights Amendment Act of 2014 during the congressional review period. Please take this opportunity to stand for religious freedom and freedom of conscience.

We thank you for your help in this important and urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Casey Mattox
Senior Counsel
Alliance Defending Freedom

Colby M. May
Senior Counsel
American Center for Law & Justice

John L. Schlageter, Esq.
General Counsel
Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA

Cynthia DeSimone Weiler
Chancellor and General Counsel
Archdiocese of Washington

John Garvey
President
The Catholic University of America

Penny Nance
CEO & President
Concerned Women for America

Phyllis Schlafly
Chairman
Eagle Forum

Dr. Russell Moore
President
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Southern Baptist Convention

David Christensen
Vice President of Government Affairs
Family Research Council

Michael A. Needham
CEO
Heritage Action for America

Carl Anderson
Supreme Knight
Knights of Columbus

Jeanne Monahan
President
March for Life Education and Defense Fund

Leith Anderson
President
National Association of Evangelicals

Brian Brown
President
National Organization for Marriage

Anthony R. Picarello, Jr.
Associate General Secretary & General Counsel
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops