First, some background: A pregnant UPS driver asked to be put on light duty because her condition limited the amount of weight she could lift. Although UPS allows people with many health problems and disabilities that prevent them lifting to go on light work, they denied the driver’s request. She sued. It’s now before the Supreme Court.
LGM links to some discussion of the case, but also excerpts from a friend-of-court brief filed by the Eagle Forum, a right-wing group created by anti-feminist Phyllis Schaffly. Schaffly is a classic example of the anti-feminist special snowflakes, a woman who built a career out of urging women to stay home and not have careers. And protesting loudly that if women do have careers, they shouldn’t have any legal protection (did you know that if you’re a virtuous woman, you’ll never be sexually harassed at work?).
So her foundation asserts that federal laws that say anti-discrimination statutes apply to pregnancy (i.e., firing pregnant women is discrimination) are irrelevant to this case because Congress clearly never intended for women to work as UPS delivery people. Or to “eliminate stereotypes of husband-breadwinner, wife-homemaker families” and that it would be bad for women by making it easier for single mothers to work (happily, a number of conservative pro-life groups are on the other side from Schaffly). And that discrimination based on pregnancy is not the same as discrimination based on sex. Because after all, they’re not discriminating against women only pregnant women. And they’d undoubtedly treat pregnant men the same.In a related vein, we have right-winger David Frum arguing based on dubious statistics that the reason abortion rates are down isn’t anti-abortion laws or increased use of birth control but the fact more slutty sluts are having babies without a husband. So government needs to get serious about getting chicks married!
