FederalSB894indirectIntroduced

Do No Harm Act

Introduced
Passed Senate
Passed House
To President
Became Law

Overview

This bill would amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by adding new restrictions on religious exemptions when they would cause harm to third parties or conflict with civil rights protections. It directly shapes when religious conscience claims succeed in court.

Why it matters: Christian families, schools, and ministries rely on religious freedom protections for conscience rights in health care, employment, and service provision; narrowing RFRA could limit exemptions from anti-discrimination laws and other regulations that conflict with Christian beliefs.

Topic: Religious freedom & expression · classifier confidence 87%

What this changes

Amends existing law

Law today: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) currently allows individuals and businesses to seek exemptions from laws that substantially burden their religious exercise, unless the government demonstrates a compelling interest and uses the least restrictive means.

If passed: This bill would amend RFRA to add explicit limits: religious exemptions could not be used to deny civil rights or cause meaningful harm to third parties. In practice, this would restrict the scope of religious accommodations—for example, it could prevent a Christian business owner or religious organization from obtaining an exemption from anti-discrimination laws or requirements that conflict with their faith convictions.

AI-generated from the bill text — verify against the official text.

Likely supporters & opponents

Likely support

Civil-liberties and LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations — The amendment prevents religious exemptions from being used to discriminate against protected classes and ensures that religious freedom does not come at the expense of others' equal access to goods, services, and opportunities.
Public accommodation and anti-discrimination enforcement advocates — Clarifying that civil-rights protections override religious exemptions provides certainty that discrimination laws will be enforced consistently.

Likely opposition

Religious-liberty advocacy organizations — Adding a 'meaningful harm' standard to RFRA undermines its core purpose by allowing the government to deny religious accommodations whenever it claims a third party would be harmed, effectively gutting protection for believers' conscience rights.
Faith-based organizations and religious employers — The bill would force religious schools, nonprofits, and family businesses to violate their sincere beliefs or face legal liability, eliminating their ability to operate according to their faith's teachings on sexuality, gender, and conscience-based hiring.

AI-inferred typical positions based on the bill’s substance — general stakeholder categories, not confirmed endorsements.

Should I support this?

Likely harmful for Christian families

For Christian families that rely on RFRA protections—whether to operate faith-based schools and services, maintain religious hiring standards, or object to mandates that conflict with biblical convictions—this amendment significantly narrows the legal shield for their religious exercise by subordinating conscience rights to government-defined civil-rights categories. It would make it harder for Christians to live and work according to their faith without facing legal coercion.

An AI assessment from a Christian-family perspective — religious freedom, parental rights, and freedom in education — not legal or voting advice.

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Official summary

A bill to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to protect civil rights and otherwise prevent meaningful harm to third parties, and for other purposes.

Status timeline

2025-03-06Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.S

H = House · S = Senate · A = Assembly