Online application asks about applicant’s attitude towards abortion

A TikToker sparked debate about whether it was appropriate to share personal views during the application process after saying an online application asked about his stance on abortion.

Kyle Rehl (@kylerehl) said in a May 30 video that he was applying for a job online and was asked to provide a paragraph of at least 200 words about his personal stance on abortion.

“Can anyone tell me why I filled out this random application and why did you see fit to ask me that question?” Rehl said in an off-screen comment.

@kylerehl SPOILER I was happy to apply for part 2 #badjobs #jobpostings #weirdjobs #weirdquestions ♬ Original sound – kyle rehl

After receiving 1.7 million views as of June 6, Rehl posted two follow-up videos, one of which identified the company that advertised the position as Live Action, an anti-abortion nonprofit.

In the second video Rehl posted about the application, he shares a green screen video of himself with a screenshot of the job description that applies to the Marketing Associate position.

“I looked at the job description, (they) don’t mention abortion anywhere,” Rehl said. “It’s only when I scroll to the bottom of the page that it mentions they want to end abortion.”

The online job description doesn’t use the word abortion until the final section of the post, which identifies Live Action as “a non-profit media and news agency dedicated to ending abortion and inspiring a culture that respects all human life.”

Above the mention of abortion, however, the post states that applicants must be “committed to Live Action’s mission.” It also lists following “pro-life news and current events” as a requirement and “experience with pro-life messaging” as a prior qualification.

Rehl posted a third video about the application and said he applied with joking responses to the job posting.

“After realizing that they were an anti-abortion organization, I decided to take issue with them further and filled out the rest of the application accordingly,” Rehl said.

Under a false name, Rehl provided false personal information, such as his education as a Doctor of Medicine in Abortion at Fetus University and previous work experience as a Sales Manager at Abortions.com.

Commenters on the three videos shared their thoughts on whether it was appropriate for the post to ask for the applicant’s views on abortion. Some said it would depend on the position working specifically in the healthcare industry.

“Is it in a facility that offers abortions? Are you expected to have an abortion? That’s the only way that would be remotely relevant,” wrote one user.

Although some users disputed the legitimacy of the question, it is not specifically illegal to ask a claimant for their opinion on the subject of abortion.

However, according to the Equal Opportunities Commission, it is illegal to discriminate against job applicants on the basis of gender, which includes pregnancy. It is also illegal to fire employees if they have had or will have an abortion.

After Rehl revealed the job was for Live Action, some users said it wasn’t surprising to be asked for an opinion on the abortion.

“Live Action is a non-profit organization for life. Obviously they will ask for an abortion,” wrote one user.

Rehl said in the comments that he found the job posting on Indeed and that he’s “def lazy researching” the company.

“In this market, you have to ship a lot of apps every day, and they intentionally made it sound like any other media job in this space,” Rehl said.

The Daily Dot reached out to Rehl for comment via TikTok comment, Instagram direct message and email, and Live Action via email.

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