Here's what's in Trump's 'religious liberty' executive order

On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order "promoting free speech and religious liberty."The order does two things: itweakens rarely enforced regulations on the political speech and activities oftax-exempt organizations, including churches and religious groups, and it tells federal agencies to consider changing Obamacare rules that require companies to provide contraception as part of their employee health plans."We are giving churches their voices back," Trumptold an audience in the Rose Garden of the White House on Thursday.But the order is controversial on both ends of the political spectrum.Civil rights groups argue the order will empoweremployers to undermine women's access to health care. The American Civil Liberties Unionhas called it "a license to discriminate"andis promising to sue the Trump administration.On the other side, far-right religious freedom advocates are arguingthat the orderdoes not go far enough. Robert George, a prominent conservative intellectual, calledthe order "meaningless."The religious liberty executive order is meaningless. No substantive protections for conscience. A betrayal. Ivanka and Jared won. We lost. https://t.co/Xn94KWTKPX' Robert P. George (@McCormickProf) May 4, 2017David French, a columnist for the conservative magazine National Review, called it"constitutionally dubious, dangerously misleading, and ultimately harmful to the very cause that it purports to protect." These critics believethe order simplyreinforces the status quo established by the Supreme Court's 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The landmark decision stated that requiring family-owned corporations to cover contraception under the Affordable Care Act violated religious freedom laws.In addition, many on the rightwould have liked to see the order include specific protections for those who reject same-sex marriage.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Watch a Trump surrogate get shut down after calling Trump the 'Martin Luther King of healthcare
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