CV NEWS FEED // A federal judge from North Dakota ruled that the Biden administration cannot force Christian companies, organizations, and groups to pay for so-called “gender-affirming” care for minors.
In the Monday ruling, District Court Judge Judge Daniel Traynor stated that the administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cannot mandate that Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) pay for such procedures.
“Here, 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,” wrote Traynor. “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.”
The judge stated that prior to the ruling, CEA had to “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.”
“Therefore, CEA has met its initial burden of showing the government substantially burdens a sincere religious exercise or belief,” Traynor wrote:
The Court further DECLARES HHS’s interpretation of Section 1557 that requires CEA or its present or future members … to perform or provide insurance coverage for gender-transition procedures violates their sincerely held religious beliefs without satisfying strict scrutiny under [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA)].
The pro-religious-freedom law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) represented CEA in the case.
ADF Senior Counsel Matt Bowman reacted to Traynor’s ruling, stating:
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,” Bowman added.
CEA President Shannon Royce said she was “overjoyed” the alliance’s 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.”
The Daily Wire reported that CEA
first filed the lawsuit in October 2021 and took issue with the [EEOC’s] interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act that employers needed to cover transgender surgeries. It also challenged the [HHS’] interpretation of sex to include gender identity for discrimination purposes.
Despite his vehement support for both the LGBTQ movement and abortion, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra is a self-professed Catholic.
