On April 21, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed, 20-16, H.J. Res. 43, a resolution disapproving the action of the DC Council in approving the Reproductive Health Nondiscrimination Amendment Act.
The District of Columbia Council approved, and Mayor Muriel Bowser signed into law, the Reproductive Health Nondiscrimination Amendment Act (DC Act 20-593) in January. The legislation amends the DC Human Rights Act of 1977 to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees based upon reproductive health decisions. It defines reproductive health decisions to include those made by an employee, or her or his spouse or dependent, to use a particular drug, device, or medical service, including the use of “contraception…or the termination of a pregnancy.”
The Home Rule Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-198) allows the District of Columbia government to enact local laws, subject to congressional oversight and review.
