Congressman Michael Cloud (@RepCloudTX)

Last Thursday, I voted against H.R. 5 - the Equality Act, a bill that would criminalize widely held religious beliefs and adherence to scientific reality. It would slash religious freedoms and roll back decades of advancements in women’s rights. Ignoring everything we know from science, gender as a protected class would be defined by each individual’s perception of themselves, rather than the biological reality of their sex. The bill would roll back religious protections, forcing people who object on religious grounds to comply with this law. President Bill Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law in 1993, which protects sincerely held religious beliefs. However, the Equality Act would undermine RFRA, preventing its application in religious liberty cases. The bill threatens faith-based adoption and foster care agencies and their ability to place children in homes with traditional family values. It would also force women’s shelters to house biological males who identify as females and allow men to participate in women’s sporting events and compete for women’s scholarships if they identify as female. Every person has inherent human dignity, but the Equality Act does not protect that dignity. Most alarmingly, this bill classifies pregnancy as a ‘sex-related condition’ opening the pathway for a pro-life doctor to be forced to perform an abortion or face a possible sex discrimination lawsuit. Similarly, this bill would make doctors vulnerable to charges of gender identity discrimination if they refuse to perform a sex reassignment procedure. The Democrat majority closed off the amendment process, but I still put forward an amendment which would have simply ensured that mental health and medical professionals would be free to practice according to their consciences and best medical judgement. Had the Democrats made this amendment in order, it would have protected doctors from the threat of having to perform abortions or sex reassignments against their will. The bill, without this amendment, paves the way for medical professionals to be charged with sex discrimination if they refuse to perform an abortion and gender identity discrimination if they refuse to perform a sex reassignment therapy or surgery. It creates a public environment hostile to women, religion, medical professionals, and diverse thought.