Federal Injunction Issued against Forcing Christian Businesses to Insure Transgender Transitions

The transgender movement is on the march, with the full and enthusiastic support of the Biden administration. Indeed, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a guidance under the Affordable Care Act requiring businesses to cover transition services in their group health-insurance policies. To do otherwise, the agency stated, is “discrimination.”

That did not sit well with the Christian Employers Alliance, in which members must be “Christian employers” that “wish to live out their faith in every-day life, including in their homes, schools, ministries, businesses, and communities.” The Alliance’s Christian Ethical Convictions states that “male and female are immutable realities defined by biological sex” and that “gender reassignment is contrary to Christian Values.”

The Alliance sued to be exempted from the EEOC’s regulation on the basis that it violated the Christian business owners’ freedom of religion. A federal judge has just granted a preliminary injunction on the basis of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act’s protections. From the ruling:

Plaintiff, the Alliance, likely faces injury. Defendants argue that failure to provide coverage or complete gender transitions would not “always” constitute discrimination. The Defendants fail to take into account that this “sometimes discrimination” could turn into “almost always.” The uncertainty left by the   Defendants’ coy interpretation will invariably cause a chill on the free exercise of the Plaintiff’s religious doctrine . . .

Violating the Alliance’s statutory rights under RFRA is an irreparable harm, comparable to those of First Amendment rights. Additionally, the Alliance’s members will be compelled to speak in a certain manner or face harassment from these agencies in the form of enforcement proceedings or loss of funding. In fact, HHS’s Guidance characterizes the Alliance’s stated beliefs as “abuse” or “discrimination” and urges the public to submit a complaint.

Injunction granted pending trial.

Now you know why the Left is so determined to gut the RFRA — which is what the Equality Act, already passed by the House, would do. The First Amendment’s guarantee of free exercise may not apply if a law or regulation is one of general applicability. If the RFRA goes, so does religious freedom in the United States.