Judge Daniel Traynor for the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota ruled that the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) is protected from providing “gender transition services,” citing religious liberty.
CEA filed a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2021 over two mandates requiring religious employers to provide health insurance covering transgender surgeries and forcing physicians holding religious views to perform sex-change surgeries.
The lawsuit also challenged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) “reinterpretation of ‘sex’ in federal law to include gender identity, thereby forcing religious healthcare providers to physically perform or facilitate gender transition surgeries and procedures, contrary to their deeply held beliefs,” according to a 2021 press release from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
The judge ruled against the EEOC and HHS, writing that CEA’s “religious beliefs are substantially burdened by the monetary penalties it faces for refusing to violate its beliefs.”
“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,” Traynor wrote. “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.”
ADF Senior Counsel and Director of Regulatory Practice Matt Bowman said in a statement, “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.”
“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.”
CEA President Shannon Royce said, “We are overjoyed our 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.”
