U.S. bishops: Federal ‘gender identity’ rule could block Catholics from government contracts

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 22, 2024 / 09:10 am

American Catholic bishops are asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reject a proposed “gender identity” rule that could make faithful Catholic entities ineligible for contracts with the department.

The HHS has proposed a rule to prohibit “discrimination” against a person based on his or her “sexual orientation” and self-assigned “gender identity” in the administration of all HHS services and programs. The proposed language does not state what actions or policies would constitute discrimination.

According to the proposal, which is undergoing a public comment period, any entity that submits a bid for a contract must “comply with the requirements of this policy” if that contract is awarded. The proposed language does not include any religious exemptions for the nondiscrimination rules.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) electronically submitted a public comment to HHS requesting that the department reject the proposal. The prelates argued the language is ambiguous and could force entities in health-related contracts to provide transgender drugs and surgeries to adults and children with gender dysphoria, even if the entity has a religious or moral objection.

In their public comment, the bishops also expressed concern that the language could force entities in HHS contracts to provide counseling that affirms a person’s homosexual attraction, even if that entity has a religious or moral objection.

“The preamble provides no explanation of how this nondiscrimination requirement will be construed, or will work in practice, as applied to the various programs and services that HHS administers and for which it enters into contracts,” the USCCB comment stated.

Depending on how the proposed rule is enforced, it could force Catholic entities to either violate their religious beliefs or forgo contracts with HHS altogether. 

The rule would apply to Catholic hospitals that accept patients on Medicare and Medicaid, which are two programs overseen by HHS. It would also apply to Catholic entities that partner with HHS on social services, such as foster care, adoption, and assistance to migrants.

This would not be the first time that HHS under President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to force Catholic entities to violate their religious beliefs.

In 2022, HHS promulgated a rule that sought to force all hospitals, including Catholic hospitals, to provide abortions if they constituted a “stabilizing treatment” under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit blocked the enforcement of this rule and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to rule on the administration’s appeal.

An appellate court ruled in August 2022 that HHS could not force Catholic hospitals to perform abortions or provide transgender drugs and surgeries to adults and minors based on its interpretation of the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition on “sex discrimination.”

The public comment period for the proposed HHS rule ends on Dec. 2 of this year, after which the department will consider the public’s suggestions. It will then decide whether to adopt the rule. 

Even if the rule is adopted, it would likely be quickly discarded after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20 of next year. 

The president-elect has been critical of what he calls “transgender insanity,” has backed a federal ban on transgender surgeries for minors, and has said he “will take historic action to defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology and reaffirm that God created two genders, male and female” and support religious freedom.

Trump intends to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead HHS. That appointment will need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.