There are two Federal Pregnancy Laws that can be employed to provide job protection to women who are pregnant: the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA) and the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Whereas the provisions of the FMLA can be interpreted to provide some protection for women who have experienced an abortion if the abortion leads to medical complications, the PDA is of primary importance in the consideration of an extension in the scope of Pregnancy Laws and pregnancy protection because this law classifies pregnancy as a “temporary disability.” As an extension of Federal Pregnancy Laws, a handful of states, including New Jersey, classify miscarriage and abortion as temporary disabilities. We ask for our Texas State Legislators to extend the protections afforded by Federal Pregnancy Laws and grant women who choose to terminate a pregnancy through abortion unpaid, job-protected medical leave for the time during and immediately after the abortion. We ask that these protections be extended to female employees of all public agencies and private businesses in the State of Texas.

Recently, a dear friend of ours chose the option of medical abortion with oral mifepristone followed by buccal misoprostol to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. After visiting a local Planned Parenthood surgical clinic and orally ingesting the first medication, she was given buccal misoprostol to take at home approximately twenty-four hours after the oral administration of mifepristone. Our friend experienced severe intermittent abdominal cramping and significant heavy bleeding for the duration of one week after self-administering misoprostol in the comfort of her home. The Planned Parenthood surgical clinic provided our friend with physician’s orders to present to her employer that limited her to light physical activities for the duration of seven to ten days. She was also prescribed Tylenol with Codeine to help mitigate the physical discomfort associated with abdominal cramping.

After experiencing two days of heavy bleeding accompanied by severe abdominal cramps, our friend decided that she could no longer perform work-related functions in an effective manner. Our friend called Planned Parenthood, informed the staff of the situation, and inquired into the possibility of receiving a physician’s letter that would indicate the need for a short absence from work. The staff at Planned Parenthood returned the call of our friend and explained to her that selecting the procedure of medical abortion had been her decision and that she had consented to the procedure of medical abortion knowing the consequences and the potential side-effects associated with the procedure. The staff at Planned Parenthood then indicated to her that they would be unable to further assist her in any work or school related matters. Whereas her employer was kind enough to eventually grant her a leave of absence, numerous women in a similar situation may not have as compassionate of an employer.

A 2005 German study on the physiological and psychological impact of surgical abortion and medical abortion with mifepristone found that women who chose the option of medical abortion with mifepristone experienced significantly more physiological side-effects, greater levels of intensity associated with the side effects, and a longer duration associated with the side effects than women who chose the option of surgical abortion. The level of perceived pain (i.e., abdominal cramping) was also significantly higher for the medical abortion group than the surgical abortion group. Additionally, the duration of a medical abortion can be as short as slightly over a day to as long as four weeks.

Surgical abortion and medical abortion are pregnancy-related medical procedures that can lead to pregnancy-related complications. A working woman who chooses to undergo the process of abortion should be entitled to unpaid, job-protected medical leave under Texas State Law as a state-level extension of the protections afforded by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

Support the need for unpaid, job-protected medical leave for women who choose the option of abortion by telling our Texas State Legislators that women have options and that we support their right to exercise these options in an environment that respects the difficult emotional and physical consequences women face when exercising the option to undergo an abortion.

Tell Texas State Legislators that women have options and we respect those options in the workplace!