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A federal court ruled on Monday that a mandate from the Biden administration cannot force Christian healthcare employees to perform gender transition surgeries.
As reported by The Christian Post, the United States District Court of the District of North Dakota issued a partial summary judgment in favor of the Christian Employers Alliance.
The two mandates at hand were from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that interpret Title VII anti discrimination protections based on “sex” to include sexual orientation and self-declared gender identity.
Meanwhile, religious employers are required to provide health insurance that covers trans surgeries and surgeons with religious objections to perform gender transition procedures otherwise they would be charged with discrimination on the basis on gender identity.
“CEA will succeed on the merits,” the court concluded, adding that “if CEA had to comply with these mandates, its members would have to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs which is an impermissible exercise under the First Amendment and [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act].”
“CEA’s sincerely held religious belief is that male and female are immutable realities defined by biological sex and that gender reassignment is contrary to Christian Values,” the order reads.
“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 EEOC and HHS mandates by violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or else face harsh consequences like paying fines and facing civil liability.”
The ruling further stated that despite “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.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative law firm representing CEA, celebrated the decision as a victory for religious liberty.
“All employers and healthcare providers, including those in the Christian Employers Alliance, have the constitutionally protected freedom to conduct their business and render treatment in a manner consistent with their deeply held religious beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Matt Bowman in a statement.
“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.”
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
