Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action, tweeted his admiration for Lipinski, but noted that the congressman voted for the Equality Act, "which would overturn most pro-life laws, including the Hyde Amendment."
"So quit whining," McClusky said of Lipinski's complaint that pro-lifers had not given him enough support. McClusky told CNA, when asked if March for Life Action would be supporting Lipinski, that the group "does not get involved in elections."
March for Life Action generally focuses its efforts on policy advocacy related to abortion. In May 2019, the group opposed the Equality Act, which it said "could be used to force health care professionals and hospitals to perform abortions, regardless of if this would violate their conscience."
The Equality Act, passed by the House last year, bars discrimination based on "sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity" in many public areas including housing, employment, education, and public accommodations while establishing definitions of "sex," "sexual orientation," and "gender identity."
The bill, critics warned, not only lacked proper religious freedom safeguards, but would enshrine in law ideologies antithetical to Christian views on the human person, sexuality, and marriage. The U.S. Catholic bishops' conference opposed the bill.
The bill has not been passed by the Senate.
Lipinski was the only House Democrat not to co-sponsor the legislation, a fact used by his primary opponent to attack him. The Congressman eventually voted for the legislation, saying he opposed discrimination, but he emphasized his committment to work for stronger safeguards for religious freedom.
On Jan. 9, Sean Nelson, legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom International, tweeted that Lipinski "has been a great supporter of #ReligiousFreedom while in the House, and co-chairs the International Religious Freedom Caucus."
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.