Rachel Morrison
Fellow
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Rachel Morrison
Fellow
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Rachel Morrison is a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she works on EPPC’s HHS Accountability Project. As an attorney, her legal and policy work focuses on religious liberty, health care rights of conscience, the right to life, nondiscrimination, and civil rights.
Before joining EPPC, Ms. Morrison served as an Attorney Advisor and Special Assistant to General Counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she focused on religious discrimination issues and was a member of the General Counsel’s Religious Discrimination Work Group. Before that, she served as Litigation Counsel for Americans United for Life and as a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, defending the right to life and religious freedom for all. She also clerked on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Ms. Morrison’s legal analysis has been published in the Seton Hall Law Review, the Pepperdine Law Review, and the Ave Maria Law Review, as well as various other print media outlets.
Ms. Morrison earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an editor for the Pepperdine Law Review and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. She received her B.A. in Mathematics and Speech Communication, summa cum laude, from Whitworth University (Spokane, WA). She is a member of the District of Columbia and the Washington State bars.
Ms. Morrison and her husband live in Washington, D.C.
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Contributions
Department of Veterans Affairs Rule Doubles Down on Abortion
On March 4, 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) finalized “without changes” an interim final rule (IFR) entitled “Reproductive Health Services.” (You can read my summary of the IFR here.)
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Supreme Court to Decide Whether EMTALA Preempts State Abortion Laws: Idaho v. U.S. and Moyle v. U.S.
Abortion is before the Supreme Court once again. This month, the Court granted certiorari in consolidated cases Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States.
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HHS Proposes Facilitating Abortions and Medical “Gender Transitions” for Unaccompanied Children
On October 4, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposed new regulations “relating to the key aspects of the placement, care, and services provided to unaccompanied children” by the Office of Refuge Resettlement (ORR). The proposed rule titled, “Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule,” is open for public comment until Monday, December 4, 2023.
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EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace: Proposed Updates Raise Concerns
Rachel Morrison
EEOC Proposes Expansive Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regulations
Rachel Morrison
On August 7, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The Commission is accepting public comment on its proposal until Tuesday, October 10.
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HHS Proposes Special HIPAA Privacy Rules for “Reproductive Health Care” Information
Rachel Morrison
In accord with the Biden administration’s pro-abortion agenda, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on April 17, 2023, titled “HIPAA Privacy Rule To Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy.” The NPRM would modify privacy standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) for information related to “reproductive health care.”
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ED Proposes Title IX Athletics Rule Requiring Participation Based on Gender Identity
Rachel Morrison
On April 13, 2023, the Department of Education (ED) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic Teams.” This Athletics NPRM would establish a new regulatory standard under Title IX that would govern sex-related criteria as it relates to gender identity for participation on sex-specific athletics teams at federally funded educational institutions. The 32-day public comment period closes on Monday, May 15.
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Nine Agencies Propose Regulations for Partnerships with Faith-Based and Neighborhood Organizations
On January 13, 2023, nine agencies issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Partnerships With Faith-Based and Neighborhood Organizations” to “clarify protections for beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries receiving federally funded social services and the rights and obligations of organizations providing such services.”
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Education Department Proposes Rescinding Religious Student Group Protections and Requests Info on Campus Free Speech Regulations
Rachel Morrison
On February 22, 2023, the Department of Education (ED) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and a request for information (RFI) relating to First Amendment religious exercise and free speech regulations for institutions of higher education.
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HHS Proposes Rule Modifying Healthcare Conscience Regulations
Rachel Morrison
On January 5, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Safeguarding the Rights of Conscience as Protected by Federal Statutes.” The 11-page NPRM is open for public comment for 60 days until Monday, March 6.
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