US: Christians Are Not Required To Provide Gender Transition Insurance Coverage, Federal Court Rules
(Worthy News) – A federal court in North Carolina ruled Monday that Christian-led businesses cannot be forced to offer employee health insurance coverage that includes gender transition treatments and surgeries, Reuters reports.
In the case which was first filed in 2021, US District Judge Daniel Traynor in Bismarck ruled that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could not use sex discrimination legislation to make the plaintiffs, the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA), provide gender transition insurance.
As the US Affordable Care Act prohibits health insurance plans from discriminating based on “sexual orientation or gender,” the federal government argued that employer health insurance plans must cover gender transition treatments and surgeries, Reuters reports.
The CEA filed suit against the government, arguing that the EEOC and HHS interpretation of the law violates their First Amendment right to religious freedom by forcing them to participate in something their religion prohibits. The CEA’s bylaws assert that “male and female are immutable realities defined by biological sex” and “gender reassignment is contrary to Christian Values.”
Agreeing with the CEA, Judge Traynor ruled that the government’s position “substantially burdens a sincere religious exercise or belief.” He added that the government could seek to protect transgender employee rights in other ways such as by providing them tax credits or subsidies, Reuters reports.
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