Christian Employers Do Not Have To Pay For Transgender Surgeries, Federal Judge Rules

Seven-year-old transgender boy Jacob Lemay and his parents Joe and Mimi look at their family photo before his transition at their home in Melrose, Massachusetts, on May 9, 2017. For months in the Lemay home, the same phrase was repeated over and over by their troubled young child, barely more than a toddler, who showed growing signs of depression. “It is a mistake, I am not a girl, I am a boy.” That convinced the Lemay family that Mia should become Jacob. (Photo credit JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN’s James Meyers
8:45 AM -Tuesday, March 5, 2024

A federal judge in North Dakota ruled on Monday that Christian employers do not have to provide payment and healthcare for transgender surgeries and other gender-related procedures.

On Monday U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor in Bismarck ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cannot enforce the Christian Employers Alliance (CEA) to cover medical care for gender-transition surgeries.

Traynor, a Donald Trump nominee, stated that Christian groups are protected under religious liberty protections from being forced to provide “gender-transition services.”

Additionally, the judge said the Christian Employers Alliance’s “religious beliefs are substantially burdened by the monetary penalties it faces for refusing to violate its beliefs.”

“Here, CEA’s sincerely held religious belief is that male and female are immutable realities defined by biological sex and that gender reassignment is contrary to Christian Values,” Traynor wrote. “As a result, performing or providing health care coverage for gender transition services under the EEOC and HHS coverage mandates impinges upon CEA’s beliefs. CEA must either comply with the EEOC and HHS mandates by violating their sincerely held religious beliefs or else face harsh consequences like paying fines and facing civil liability.”

The lawsuit was initially filed in October 2021 by the Christian Employers Alliance after the group took issue with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Furthermore, the judge’s decision was praised by the CEA and the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the group in the case.

“We are overjoyed our members will not have to choose between the biblically based employee benefits and quality healthcare they provide, and the threat of federal enforcement and massive costs for practicing their faith,” Christian Employers Alliance President Shannon Royce said.

Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts