Congress

  1. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced on March 17, 2022 that he and 32 Republican Senators introduced a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the Biden Administration’s 2021 Final Rule on the Title X Family Planning Program, which reversed the Trump Administration’s 2019 ban on federal funding to entities that provide abortion referrals to pregnant mothers.
  2. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) announced on March 23, 2022 that he and a group of senators introduced the Prohibiting Religious Exemption and Accommodations Databases Act, which would prohibit Federal agencies from sharing, disclosing, or spreading information about religious accommodation requests by Federal employees beyond what is needed to process the request.

 

The Executive Branch

  1. HHS announced on March 30, 2022, a massive award of funds to Planned Parenthood clinics across the nation.
  2. DOJ announced on March 30, 2022, a two-count indictment against nine people who allegedly blocked access to abortion clinics.
  3. EEOC announced on March 31, 2022, that it will add a nonbinary gender option to the discrimination charge intake process.
  4. President Biden sent to the Senate the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal on April 5, 2022, to be a Member of the EEOC, replacing Janet Dhillon (whose term expires on July 1).

 

Regulation Updates

This month, the Department of Health and Human Services sent two proposed rules to the White House for review:

Any individual or organization concerned about religious freedom rights or conscience protections for health care workers and organizations should request a meeting with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to discuss these proposed rules, as well as these two other rules still under review at OIRA:

  • Title IX Rule
  • Religious Liberty and Free Inquiry Rule

Please see the linked chart for a non-exhaustive list of forthcoming rules that are expected to affect religious liberty and conscience rights.

 

Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public policy matters. Any expressions of opinion are those of the author. We welcome responses to the views presented here. To join the debate, please email us at [email protected].