North Dakota's federal court has ruled that Catholic hospitals should not be forced to conduct transgender procedures, the Christian Post reported on Wednesday.
Deciding on the case of the Sisters of Mercy, et. al. vs. Azar, North Dakota District Court Judge Peter Welte granted exemption for Catholic hospitals from the Transgender Mandate since it is contrary to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The federal court decided through a "permanent injuctive relief" in favor of the Catholic hospitals who should not be required to perform gender transition procedures by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Welte "dismissed without prejudice" the Defendants'--the Department of Health and Human Services led by Secretary Alex Azar--"abortion-related claims, APA claims, and claims challenging Title IX and other unidentified federal laws," thereby granting the sisters of Mercy and company "partial summary judgment and injunctive relief."
"The Court declares that HHS's interpretation of Section 1557 that requires the Catholic Plaintiffs to perform and provide insurance coverage for gender-transition procedures violates their sincerely held religious beliefs without satisfying strict scrutiny under the RFRA," read the Conclusion of the 57-page court decision.
"Accordingly, the Court PERMANENTLY ENJOINS AND RESTRAINS HHS, Secretary Azar, their divisions, bureaus, agents, officers, commissioners, employees, and anyone acting in concert or participation with them, including their successors in office, from interpreting or enforcing Section 1557 of the ACA, 42 U.S.C. § 18116(a), or any implementing regulations thereto against the Catholic Plaintiffs in a manner that would require them to perform or provide insurance coverage for gender-transition procedures, including by denying federal financial assistance because of their failure to perform or provide insurance coverage for such procedures or by otherwise pursuing, charging, or assessing any penalties, fines, assessments, investigations, or other enforcement actions," it said.
A 2019 appointee of former President Donald Trump, Welte explained that a "RFRA violation is comparable to the deprivation of a First Amendment right.
"Having weighed the pertinent factors, the Court will permanently enjoin the Defendants from enforcing the successfully challenged interpretations of federal law against the Catholic Plaintiffs," he concluded.
According to the Christian Post, the Affordable Care Act or "Transgender Mandate" was implemented in 2016 by the Obama administration. It requires "healthcare providers" to "perform gender transition procedures, even on minors, even if they hold religious objections to the controversial practice."
The creation of the Affordable Care Act then prompted the filing of a lawsuit against the HHS by a group of Catholic entities, composed of the congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, "two Sacred Heart Mercy Health Care Center clinics; SMP Health System and the North Dakota-based University of Mary", as per Christian Post.
The Christian Post revealed that Becket Law, renowned to handle "religious liberty cases," represented the Catholic plaintiffs.
In 2020, the Affordable Care Act were broadened of its exemptions by the HHS but "were complicated by the Supreme Court decision Bostock v. Clayton County" that concluded the "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to sexual orientation and gender identity even though neither category is specifically mentioned in federal discrimination law," the Christian Post added.
