The Biden administration has agreed to pay $210,000 in legal fees and costs to settle a lawsuit won by a coalition of Christian businesses that challenged the administration's policies on gender reassignment. The Christian Employers Alliance, a coalition of Christian employers, filed a lawsuit in 2021 over two policies it accused the Biden administration of violating religious freedoms guaranteed under federal law.
One of these policies, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations, requires employers to provide and pay for health insurance that covers gender transition surgeries and treatments. Another policy is a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation that requires health care providers to participate in gender reassignment surgeries and treatments. Lawyers for the Christian Employers Alliance had argued that the Biden administration incorrectly reinterpreted “sex” in federal law to include gender identity.
federal judge sided This year, they filed a lawsuit jointly with the Christian Employers Alliance, which ruled that the policy violated “their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
“CEA's religious beliefs are significantly burdened by financial penalties for refusing to violate those beliefs,” the judge ruled.
Lawyers for the coalition announced this week that the Biden administration has agreed to pay $210,000 in legal fees and costs to conclude the case.
“All employers and health care providers, including members of the Christian Employers Alliance, have a constitutionally protected freedom to conduct business and provide care in a manner consistent with their deeply held religious beliefs.”ADF said senior advisor Matt Bowman. “The employers we represent cannot pay for or perform life-changing medical procedures or gender-changing surgeries because God intentionally created humans to be either male or female. We believe that this violates religious beliefs, and we hope to successfully conclude this case on behalf of our client and hold accountable the government for attempting to enforce an unlawful order that disrespects people of faith. I'm happy.”
Shannon Royce, president of the Christian Employers Alliance, praised the lawsuit's conclusion.
“We are thrilled that our members will no longer have to choose between Bible-based employee benefits and quality health care, and the threat of federal enforcement and the significant costs of practicing their faith. ,” Royce said.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Win McNamee/Staff
michael faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His articles have appeared in the Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star, and Knoxville News Sentinel.
