President Biden's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has amended rules to require people of faith to fund elective abortions and transgender surgeries through their health insurance. The new mandate reinterpret the definition of "on the basis of sex" to include "gender identity" and "termination of pregnancy." Faith-based hospitals and clinics must now adhere to an ethically problematic definition of sex under the new mandate. And doctors are required to perform "gender affirming" procedures, including on children, despite their consistent medical objections.
The Biden administration's war on religious freedom has escalated with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issuing a new rule that mandates funding for elective abortions and transgender surgeries through health insurance. The move has drawn sharp criticism from religious believers and medical professionals alike.
The newly finalized Section 1557 reinterprets the definition of "on the basis of sex" to include "gender identity" and "termination of pregnancy." This broad definition effectively forces people of faith to violate their sincerely held beliefs by funding procedures that they find morally objectionable.
Over 70% of Americans identify as Christian, and nearly 75% of citizens believe that physicians should be allowed to opt out of performing medical procedures that go against their beliefs. However, Section 1557 now requires religious doctors and medical staff to perform "gender affirming" procedures, even on children, despite their consistent medical objections.
The rule's language will inflict real harm on real patients and require insurance holders to foot the bill for procedures with life-long consequences, including elective mastectomies, hysterectomies, breast augmentation, abortions, and more.
Faith-based hospitals and clinics are now required to adhere to an ethically problematic definition of sex under the new mandate, which raises concerns about the quality and availability of healthcare for patients who hold traditional beliefs about gender and biology.
HHS's move is just the latest in a series of attacks on religious freedom by the Biden administration. During the Obama era, HHS persecuted people of faith by implementing rules and regulations that forced Catholic nuns to pay for birth control in their health insurance plans without exception.
The Biden administration now shamelessly promises Americans that its HHS proposals will do nothing to stifle religious freedom while disingenuously claiming to actively defend First Amendment freedoms. However, these promises fall short each time the administration weaponizes its "nonpartisan" HHS against religious Americans and paves the way for other government agencies to do the same.
Thankfully, America's faithful have solutions at their disposal, free from problematic clauses and draconian constraints. Christian health sharing ministries, including the one I helped create, Solidarity HealthShare, provide an ethical alternative to traditional health insurance. Free from all federal monetary assistance, ministries like ours provide members with high-quality care at a reasonable price without compromising their sincerely held beliefs.
In the wake of HHS's atrocious new rule, health sharing ministries stand ready to welcome millions of marginalized conscientious Americans into our fold. It's unacceptable that Section 1557 rules put Americans in a position of choosing between either conscience or care. But at least for now, health sharing ministries offer them a place of refuge where their beliefs and medical care can coexist.
The Biden administration's war on religious freedom must be stopped. Americans should not be forced to choose between their faith and their healthcare. HHS's new rule is a blatant violation of the First Amendment and must be overturned.
