Abortion Rights Advocates Prepare Appeals to Religious Liberty

In the early 1990s, as Congress was considering the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the U.S. Catholic bishops surprised some religious liberty advocates by voicing opposition to the bill. As their representatives explained at a hearing before a Senate committee that included then-Senator Joe Biden, the bishops were concerned RFRA would allow "religiously based abortion claims" -- objections to abortion restrictions brought by their fellow people of faith -- to prevail. The bill was eventually amended, mollifying the bishops. But their prognostication about abortion and religious liberty may yet come to pass.