Last week the Supreme Court announced its decision in Young v. UPS, which declared that pregnancy discrimination claims under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) will be treated the same as various other civil rights claims. The Court’s decision encourages pregnant women to carry their babies to term with the knowledge that they now have stronger legal defenses against pregnancy-related discrimination.
Young is the first Supreme Court case to interpret the PDA’s equal-treatment provision since the PDA was enacted nearly 40 years ago. Our amicus brief argued that the Court should apply the PDA as written, requiring that pregnant women “shall be treated the same” as others “not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work.” We are convinced that the addition of Life Legal Defense Foundation’s voice to the chorus of amici encouraged the Court to adopt meaningful protections for pregnant women and the unborn.