Disagreement is not discrimination: ‘Do No Harm Act’ is a dishonest act to eject religion
To hear supporters of the 'Do No Harm Act' tell it, the federal law protecting religious freedom is a weapon harming minorities. But that's not true.
MATT SHARP | OPINION CONTRIBUTOR | 7:00 am EDT July 4, 2019
For several hours on June 25, I occupied a front-row seat in our country’s ongoing debate over religious liberty. The House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing on the “Do No Harm Act” — a misleading title if there ever was one. The bill callously carves out pockets within American life where checks, specifically the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), against government-sponsored religious discrimination would no longer apply to people of faith. I testified in opposition, demonstrating why every person should have the same opportunity to seek relief from government restrictions on their faith.
To hear supporters of the bill tell it, religious liberty and RFRA serve now as a weapon wielded against women, minorities and the LGBTQ community — a concerning claim, if it were true. It is not. Throughout the hearing, members of Congress and panelists alike pontificated about their own deeply held beliefs and their firm conviction that certain religious beliefs (specifically those they personally dislike) cannot be followed in the public sphere.
Lawmakers put hostility to religion on display
For instance, Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., attacked a Christian foster care organization that serves everyone, including children of all faiths, but requires staff to share the organization’s Christian faith. Hayes completely mischaracterized the organization's constitutionally protected freedom to operate within its Christian convictions by saying that it “openly discriminates against foster parents based on their religion,” and chided that “this does not reflect the God I serve.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., questions witnesses at a hearing on May 16, 2019.
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
Questions by supporters of the “Do No Harm Act,” like Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., suggest that the freedom to follow certain beliefs about marriage must be abandoned when baker Jack Phillips opens his shop to sell custom-designed cakes.
Certain beliefs against providing abortifacients that end a human life must be ignored because Hobby Lobby’s family owners operate a thriving arts and crafts supplies business. Why? Because Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., believes that religious objections to paying for certain abortion-inducing drugs is “dictat(ing) their religious beliefs upon their employees.”
