A federal court has ruled that Christian health care workers cannot be forced to perform elective, disfiguring surgeries on people who identify as trans, despite a mandate from the Biden administration.
In a order Published Monday, the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota granted partial summary judgment in favor of the Christian Employers Alliance.
At issue were two mandates from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that interpret Title VII’s anti-discrimination protections based on “sex” to include sexual orientation and self-reported gender identity. It would require religious employers to provide health insurance covering trans-mutilating surgeries and force surgeons with religious objections to perform procedures such as castration for men and elective double mastectomies for women, or face charges of discrimination based on gender identity.
The court concluded that “the CEA will succeed on the merits,” adding that “if the CEA were to comply with these mandates, its members would have to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs, which is a prohibited exercise under the First Amendment and (of religious freedom). Restoration Law).
“The sincere religious belief of the CEA is that man and woman are immutable realities defined by biological sex and that sex change is contrary to Christian values,” the order reads.
“Accordingly, providing or furnishing health care coverage for gender transition services under the EEOC and HHS coverage mandates impinges on the beliefs of the CEA. CEA must either comply with EEOC and HHS mandates by violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or face serious consequences, such as paying fines and facing civil liability.
The ruling adds that while “protecting transgender patients’ rights to access essential health care and protecting workers from sex discrimination certainly constitute a compelling interest, defendants here have done nothing but identify a broadly formulated interest in an attempt to justify the general applicability of the law. the government requires it.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative law firm that helps represent the CEA, celebrated the decision, calling it a victory for religious freedom.
“All employers and health care providers, including those in the Christian Employers Alliance, enjoy the constitutionally protected freedom to conduct business and provide treatment in a manner consistent with their deeply held religious beliefs.” , Matt Bowman, senior attorney for the ADF, said in a statement. statement.
“The employers we represent believe that God deliberately created humans as male or female, and that it would therefore violate their religious beliefs to pay for or perform life-changing medical procedures or surgeries that aim to change sex. The court was in a good position to stop the administration from enforcing these illegal mandates that disrespect people of faith.
In 2016, the Obama administration adopted a final rule which interpreted Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which sought to prohibit discrimination in health care based on sex, to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
The final rule was challenged in court by several states and various religious groups, and was ultimately repealed by the Trump administration in 2018.
However, under the Biden administration, the EEOC and HHS have returned to the Obama-era interpretation of sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
To justify returning to the old policy, the administration cited the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision. Bostock v. Clayton Countyin which the high court ruled that Title VII protected against employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The Supreme Court in Boston recognized that discriminating against a person because of their sexual orientation or transgender status is tantamount to discriminating against that person because of their sex,” the EEOC said in June 2021.
“Therefore, the Supreme Court has held that Title VII prohibits a covered employer from considering an employee’s sexual orientation or transgender status in making employment-related decisions. »
In October 2021, the CEA deposit a lawsuit against the Biden administration, arguing that the mandate forced religious groups like them to perform actions contrary to their beliefs.
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