This report outlines the ways in which a guidance document issued by the Trump-era Attorney General interprets and expands religious liberty laws in a way that elevates the right to religious exemptions over other legal and constitutional rights. The guidance has been used to limit access to reproductive health care and threatens to limit enforcement of various health, employment, and anti-discrimination protections.

“Under [HHS’s] proposed rule, a doctor who refuses to provide care that is medically indicated and requested by a patient is protected, while a doctor who does provide this care in accordance with her conscience can be fired.”

–LRRP Director Liz Platt

This report presents data showing that in many states, women of color disproportionately give birth in Catholic hospitals that place religious restrictions on care—even during medical emergencies. Such restrictions stand to exacerbate the existing disparities women of color already face in accessing quality reproductive health care.

This report shows how recent legislative efforts to expand religious liberty rights, such as the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), allow religious objectors to violate laws that protect against pregnancy, familial status, and marital status discrimination.

This resource provides an overview of the types of bills that were introduced over the 2015-2016 Legislative Session.

LRRP helped Church-State Scholars prepare their Supreme Court brief in Zubik v. Burwell, and issued a companion fact sheet on what women of color stood to lose in the fight over contraceptive coverage.