Christian Employers Sue Biden Administration Over Rule that Would Force Them to Pay for Sex Changes
The Alliance Defending Freedom is suing the Biden administration on behalf of the Christian Employers Alliance for mandates which, it argues, force employers to pay for or perform gender transition surgeries, procedures, counseling and treatments in violation of their religious beliefs.
“By misinterpreting and improperly enforcing federal law, President Biden has far overreached his constitutional authority, to the detriment of people of faith across the country,” said Matt Bowman, senior counsel at ADF.
“The government cannot force Christian employers to pay for, or physically perform, harmful medical procedures that contradict their religious beliefs.”
UPDATE: Christian employers ask for protection against Biden gender transition mandates
ADF attorneys file lawsuit challenging federal mandates that force religious employers to pay for or perform gender transition procedures. @JoinCEANow https://t.co/ZrloHG0vYM
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@AllianceDefends) October 19, 2021
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission coverage mandate forces employers that provide health insurance to employees to provide coverage of elective gender transition services, ADF argued in its brief filed Monday.
The ADF brief also argues the Department of Health and Human Services gender identity mandate misinterprets “discrimination based on sex” in federal law in order to force providers to pay for and provide gender transition services against their religious beliefs.
ADF attorneys filed a separate suit challenging the HHS mandate in August, representing the American College of Pediatricians, the Catholic Medical Association and an OB-GYN doctor.
It argued that the law “would require doctors to perform gender transition procedures on any patient, including a child if the procedure violates a doctor’s medical judgment or religious beliefs.”
“The Supreme Court has made clear that people have a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a May statement, according to NBC News.
“All people need access to health care services to fix a broken bone, protect their heart health, and screen for cancer risk,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health.
“No one should be discriminated against when seeking medical services because of who they are.”
At least 16 states have taken measures to ban doctors from performing gender transition surgeries or hormonal treatments intended to block puberty for minors.
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