NC Family Staff | May 19, 2021 | SHARE: 
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia last year redefined the word “sex” in federal employment law, saying that discrimination on the basis of sex now includes “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” (SOGI) as protected classes. This ruling elevated SOGI to the same level as race, color, religion, sex, and national origin in regards to workplace discrimination. But last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took the Supreme Court’s action a step further, announcing that in light of the High Court’s ruling in Bostock, the Office of Civil Rights will now include SOGI in both Title IX’s discrimination policy and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex “in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), “discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability is prohibited by any federally funded health program or activity, executive agency, or entity under Title I of the ACA,” according to the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. The word “sex” will now be redefined in both of these laws to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” This change will affect many aspects of education, including boys and men having just as much right as women to play on girls’ sports teams, to shower and dress in girls’ locker rooms, to live in female dorms, etc. In health care, this could lead to health care providers being pressured to violate their religious liberty and conscience protections by administering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, or to perform gender transition procedures and surgeries.
The Obama Administration imposed a similar policy after the ACA was passed, but in 2020, the Trump Administration reversed this policy and returned the definition of “sex” to its original meaning to include only male or female as determined at birth. Now that the Biden Administration has re-imposed this broad and incorrect definition of “sex,” the religious liberty of people of faith across our nation is at great risk.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) prohibits the federal government from forcing individuals and organizations to violate their beliefs, unless the government can prove it has a narrowly-tailored, compelling governmental interest for doing so. Unfortunately, we saw a similar SOGI policy enacted under the Obama Administration that led to countless objections and lawsuits on behalf of people of faith across the country. Although HHS’s announcement last week acknowledged RFRA and said the Office of Civil Rights will comply with RFRA, this offers people of faith little solace.
Just ask Colorado cake artist Jack Phillips, Washington State florist Barronelle Stutzman, and numerous other people of faith whose lives and livelihoods have been completely upended by SOGI-initiated lawsuits.
Unfortunately, this new HHS announcement is just the latest in a flood of actions by the Biden-Harris administration to elevate culturally fashionable LGBTQ+ identity over the fundamental, constitutionally protected rights of the American people.
