U.S. Senator Cory Booker today reintroduced the Do No Harm Act, a bill aimed at undoing the Supreme Court’s 2014 Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision allowing the arts and crafts giant Hobby Lobby to be exempt from the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate.
The bill, which Booker characterized as “restoring … the original intent” of the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), was previously introduced in the House by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA). Senator Bob Menendez is listed as one of the bill’s co-sponsors in the Senate.
The specific provisions of the Do No Harm Act would prevent the RFRA from being utilized to deny workplace protections, accommodations, and services in the name of religious freedom.
“Freely exercising your religion shouldn’t mean denying others of their civil rights,” Booker said in a statement. “The Do No Harm Act rights the Supreme Court’s wrong, restoring the careful balance of the First Amendment by both protecting religious liberty and ensuring the law and religious beliefs cannot be wielded to deny people of their right to live free from discrimination.”