Everyone Cares About Pregnancy Discrimination
A few weeks after The New York Times published its widely cited report titled “Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies,” Bradley Mattes, the co-founder and president of the Ohio-based Life Issues Institute, a partner of the national anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, recorded a short clip for the anti-abortion radio show Life Issues. Calmly but with conviction in his voice, he expressed his dismay at what the Times alleged was taking place inside companies all over America—that tens of thousands of pregnant women had been systematically sidelined from work, refused accommodations that would make their workplaces safer or more comfortable, passed over for promotions, and fired after registering complaints.
Mattes honed in on one particular case from the Times story, in which a salesperson at the healthcare company Novartis, a single mother was told by her boss she should consider an abortion. “She didn’t, and after her maternity leave, she said they advised her not to pursue any more promotions due to her ‘unfortunate circumstances at home,’” Mattes said. Those weren’t unfortunate circumstances at home, Mattes said: “That is her son Anthony. Pregnancy isn’t a disease. Babies are a blessing.”
On this particular issue, the conservative Mattes had an unusual ally. A week earlier, several hundred miles away,report, but that chalked up to the “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez effect.” After the Democratic Socialist Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic primary for a New York City congressional seat, these analysts say Cuomo seems suddenly motivated to win over far-left voters ahead of the November gubernatorial election. “As we continue to champion women's rights and break down barriers to equality,” Cuomo , “this investigation and outreach campaign will help make New York a safer, stronger state for all."
