A US court has ruled that Christian healthcare providers and health professionals cannot be forced to fund or take part in medical gender transitions despite mandates from the Biden administration.
At issue were two mandates from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that interpret Title VII anti-discrimination protections based on “sex” to include sexual orientation and self-declared gender identity. Those mandates forced surgeons with religious objections to carry out transition procedures and required religious employers to provide health insurance for medical transitions.
A federal district court in Bismarck, North Dakota ruled the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) would succeed in challenging the mandates, based on its First Amendment rights to freedom of religion. It wrote that “sincerely held religious belief is that male and female are immutable realities defined by biological sex,” adding that “gender reassignment is contrary to Christian values.”
The court recognised that the claimant’s religious beliefs were substantially burdened by the threat of financial penalties for refusing to compromise their religious convictions. “As a result, performing or providing health care coverage for gender transition services under the EEOC and HHS coverage mandates impinges upon CEA’s beliefs. CEA must either comply with the mandates by violating their sincerely held religious beliefs, or else face harsh consequences like paying fines and facing civil liability.”
The decision added that although “protecting the right of transgender patients to access crucial healthcare and protecting workers from sex discrimination is certainly a compelling interest, the defendants here have done nothing more than identify a broadly formulated interest in an attempt to justify the general applicability of the government mandates.” It concluded that the Biden administration cannot force religious employers and healthcare providers to fund gender transition procedures through insurance and other means.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) lawyers representing the CEA hailed the decision as a victory for religious liberty. ADF Senior Counsel Matt Bowman emphasised the constitutionally protected freedom of employers and healthcare providers to adhere to their religious beliefs in conducting their businesses and providing treatment.
“The employers we represent believe that God purposefully created humans as either male or female, and so it would violate their religious beliefs to pay for, or perform life-altering medical procedures or surgeries that seek to change one’s sex. The court was on firm ground to stop the administration from enforcing these unlawful mandates that disrespect people of faith,” he stated.
CEA President Shannon Royce said: “We are overjoyed our members will not have to choose between the Biblically based employee benefits and quality healthcare they provide, and the threat of federal enforcement and massive costs for practicing their faith.”
Premier Christian News reports: “This landmark decision reinforced the fundamental right of religious organisations to uphold their beliefs in the face of governmental overreach, ensuring continued protection for the religious liberties of employers and healthcare providers across the US.”
