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Clarify that federal benefits law does not block state abortion restrictions

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, chapter 18, p. 585. Written by Jonathan Berry.

Clarify that federal benefits law does not block state abortion restrictions

The document says “shouldWho acts: Congress, DOLHow: legislationp. 585 in the PDF
What the document says

“Congress and DOL should clarify that ERISA does not preempt states’ power to restrict abortion, surrogacy, or other anti-life “benefits.””

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 585

The chapter records that since Dobbs some benefits lawyers have argued that federal preemption under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act should block state efforts to stop employers helping employees obtain abortions through benefit plans, and says that law should not be allowed to override a state's ability to restrict it.

What the document actually says

“Congress and DOL should clarify that ERISA does not preempt states’ power to restrict abortion, surrogacy, or other anti-life “benefits.””

Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, p. 585
That sentence, in plain words

One federal law can override state rules. The book says it should not do so here.

What this is about

A federal law covers job benefit plans. It can override state law. Some states restrict abortion. The book says the federal law should not block those states.

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The quotation is the document's own words, exactly as printed, and we check the page number against the book itself before publishing. The paragraph underneath is our summary, not the document's words. So is the plain English version, which is why it sits beside the quotation rather than replacing it.

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