Biden’s New Authoritarians Prioritize Gender Transition over Religious Liberty

Refusing to respect the Constitution; the Church Amendment, which protects the conscience rights of doctors; or a 2016 court case brought by a religious hospital and more than 20,000 healthcare professionals, the Biden administration maintains it has sufficient authority to punish groups that don’t perform gender “transition” surgery and abortions. Following a pathway blazed by President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2016, rejecting conscience objections, the Biden administration breathed new life into the left’s open season on religious hospitals and physicians.

Open season was initially closed because the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty stepped in to swiftly secure a preliminary injunction against the original rule in 2016. After all, the original HHS rule violated the Administrative Procedures Act and likely violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Confirming this analysis, on January 21, 2021, a district court ruled in favor of Catholic groups contesting the HHS rule. Hence, the transgender rule was blocked from taking effect. This decision was upheld on appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals on December 10, 2022.