BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — More than 9,000 Catholic employers do not need to abide by federal regulations requiring accommodations for workers who seek abortions and fertility treatments, according to a ruling issued this week by a federal judge in North Dakota.
The Catholic Benefits Association and the Bismarck Diocese filed a lawsuit last year challenging the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's regulations on implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and childbirth-related needs. The EEOC interpreted the statute to include abortion and fertility treatments as among those needs, which the Catholic groups argued violated their religious rights.
The Catholic groups also challenged separate EEOC guidelines for enforcing anti-harassment laws, which the agency updated last year to specify that workers cannot be harassed over their gender-identity or for seeking or contemplating having abortions.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor ruled Tuesday that he would make permanent an earlier preliminary injunction that blocked the EEOC from enforcing both its final rule for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the harassment guidelines against the Catholic employers.
Traynor, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2020, wrote last year: “It is a precarious time for people of religious faith in America. It has been described as a post-Christian age. One indication of this dire assessment may be the repeated illegal and unconstitutional administrative actions against one of the founding principles of our country, the free exercise of religion.”
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act passed with widespread bipartisan support in December 2022, and it had the support of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. But controversy ensued when the EEOC adopted an expansive view of conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth that required accommodations, including for abortion, fertility treatment and birth control. While the rule includes an exemption for religious employers, it says determinations must be made on a case-by-case basis.
In earlier court papers, the association and the diocese said, “The combined effect of EEOC’s pronouncements is that they require CBA Members, contrary to their Catholic faith, to accommodate their employees’ abortions and immoral fertility treatments, to use false pronouns when requested by transitioning employees, to abstain from expressing Catholic teaching regarding sexual issues, and to give employees of one sex access to private spaces reserved to those of the other sex.”
Traynor was a board member of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s Catholic bishops, according to a Senate Judiciary Committee judicial nominee questionnaire. In March 2024, he blocked the government from enforcing federal laws and regulations requiring a Christian employers’ organization to provide insurance coverage for gender-transition surgeries, counseling and other care.
Attorney Martin Nussbaum said his clients are “very thankful to the federal judiciary for vindicating religious freedom rights” in the case and previous ones involving the association.
“One of the things that we've seen is an emerging practice on behalf of some of the federal administrations — we also see this in certain states — a desire not only to mandate immoral benefits but to impose speech codes that would be contrary to Catholic values,” Nussbaum said. “But the speech codes go beyond pronouns to even speaking about what Catholic teaching is, and we're just grateful to this court for protecting the freedom of speech of Catholic organizations as well.”
Bishop David D. Kagan, of Bismarck, said: “The Court has upheld our religious freedom rights and that is all we ever wanted.”
A Better Balance, a legal advocacy group that led a decades-long campaign for the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, condemned the ruling.
“This ruling is part of a broad trend of attacks on women’s rights and reproductive freedom. The fact that IVF — a highly popular and common medical procedure that millions of Catholics and Christians support — is being targeted speaks to the extremist nature of this case,” A Better Balance President Inimai Chettiar said in a statement.
She said the ruling would contribute to confusion over implementation of a law that “was designed to close gaps in the law and bring clarity to pregnant workers and employers alike.” Chettiar emphasized that the entirety of the law remains in effect for most workers.
In an interview, she said it will be interesting to see whether the Justice Department appeals.
The EEOC declined to comment. It had previously asked the judge to deny a permanent injunction and said the other side can’t back up its claims.
However, the EEOC's priorities have shifted dramatically under the administration of Trump, who fired two of the agency's Democratic commissioners in January. The new acting EEOC chair, Andrea Lucas, a Republican, has said she intends to push for a commission vote to change both the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act rules and the updated harassment guidelines.
The Catholic Benefits Association serves more than 9,000 Catholic employers and has about 164,000 employees enrolled in member health plans, according to its website.
FILE - The William L. Guy Federal Building is seen in Bismarck, N.D., April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)
President Donald Trump President Donald Trump wraps up a Mideast tour in the United Arab Emirates with a breakfast for business leaders and a visit to an interfaith place of worship named for the Abraham Accords he negotiated.
As part of the accords, the UAE and some other countries in the Middle East recognized Israel. Trump departs Abu Dhabi after his visit to the Abrahamic Family House .
During his visit to the region, violence flared in the West Bank, and Gaza. Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people Friday, adding to the more than 120 people who died in recent days.
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“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
Trump reiterated that he wasn’t surprised that Putin skipped a U.S. orchestrated meeting in Turkey between Ukrainian and Russian officials. Putin didn’t want to go because he’s not there, Trump said.
Trump added that a meeting with Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”
“ I would actually leave here and go,” said Trump, who noted his daughter Tiffany just gave birth to her first child. “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”
Trump says he’s had an “incredible” trip to the Middle East but that “now it’s time to go back home.” He added: “My daughter had a baby and I’m going to go home and see that baby.”
Tiffany Trump gave birth to boy.
“She’s doing great and the baby’s great.”
An Israeli official said Cabinet members are meeting Friday to assess the negotiations in Qatar and to decide on next steps. The official was not authorized to brief media on the meeting and so spoke on condition of anonymity.
At an event to highlight business partnerships between the UAE and US companies, Trump gave himself a big pat on the back.
“I’m just thinking we have a president of the United States doing the selling,” Trump said to business leaders as they walked him through a presentation on investments that are benefitting the American economy. “You think Biden would be doing it? I don’t think so. But I think its so important. I have to be a cheerleader for our country.”
President Donald Trump has arrived at a business forum being held at Qasr al-Watan, a ceremonial palace in Abu Dhabi.
Trump entered and listened to a presentation from Sultan al-Jaber, the head of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., as well as officials from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Occidental, two oil firms.
Al-Jaber then presented Trump a memento that included a drop of oil in it.
“This is the highest quality oil there is on the planet,” Trump told those watching.
He then drew laughter when he said: “And they only gave me a drop -- so I’m not thrilled.”
Hostage families called on their government Friday to work with President Trump to release those still held in Gaza.
A statement from the hostages forum, which supports the families said people woke up with “heavy hearts” amid reports of increased attacks across Gaza at the end of Trump’s visit to the Middle East. There were widespread attacks in northern Gaza Friday as Trump was finishing his visit to Gulf States but not Israel.
Israel says about 23 of the hostages are said to be alive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas militant group, which governs Gaza.
The hostage families called on Netanyahu to “join hands” with Trump’s efforts to release the hostages.
“Missing this historic opportunity for a deal to bring the hostages home would be a resounding failure that will be remembered in infamy forever.
Trump is wrapping up his four-day visit to the Middle East, but he’s keeping a close eye on what’s going on back in Washington.
Before heading out Friday morning to the Qasr Al Watan presidential for the final engagements of his trip, the president took to his Truth Social platform to hammer “Radical Left Sleazebags” after Supreme Court justices on Thursday heard more than two hours of arguments debating how the lower courts should handle Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship.
“I hope the Supreme Court doesn’t fall for the games they play,” Trump added. “The people are with us in bigger numbers than ever before.”
President Donald Trump is kicking off the final day of his Middle East trip with a meeting of U.S. and UAE business executives alongside UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Energy, health care, aviation, entertainment and other business leaders will be in attendance to highlight ties between the two countries -- a central focus of Trump’s trip to the region. Trump will then tour the Abrahamic Family House, a complex that houses a church, mosque and synagogue and is a symbol of interfaith tolerance. Trump has encouraged other countries in the region to join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel, as the UAE did in 2020. The president will then depart back to Washington.
Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza on Friday morning, as U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, where they were brought. Survivors said many people were still under the rubble.
The widespread attacks across northern Gaza come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf states but not Israel.
There had been widespread hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.
President Donald Trump will make several stops before taking off on Air Force One to end his Mideast trip on Friday.
He’ll attend a business summit in the morning in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Trump later will visit the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi. It is home to a mosque, a church and a synagogue. The UAE built it after diplomatically recognizing Israel in an agreement known as the Abraham Accords, as Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all known as the Abrahamic faiths.
Etihad Airways announced Friday it would purchase 28 wide-body Boeing aircraft during a visit by President Donald Trump to the United Arab Emirates.
Etihad is the government-owned airline of Abu Dhabi that also flies East-West routes like Emirates, the long-haul carrier in neighboring Dubai.
Etihad said in a statement that the sale included “a mix of Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft, powered by GE engines and supported by a services package.”
Boeing did not immediately acknowledge the deal.
Trump was due to address a business conference in Abu Dhabi on Friday, the last day of his Mideast trip that’s also taken him to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which booked a major Boeing order for its long-haul carrier, Qatar Airways.
Tia Goldenberg contributed from Tel Aviv
President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan talk at Qasr Al Watan, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrive at Qasr Al Watan, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and Sheikh Khaled Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, right, tour the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
