The Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has struck a blow to conscientious Americans by amending Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The new rule reinterprets the definition of “on the basis of sex” to include “gender identity” and “termination of pregnancy.” This redefinition and its requirements do not bode well for insurance holders, as it now requires religious doctors and medical staff to perform “gender affirming” procedures, including on children, despite their consistent medical objections.
The rule’s language will inflict real harm on patients and require insurance holders to foot the bill for procedures with lifelong consequences, such as elective mastectomies, hysterectomies, breast augmentation, and abortions. This move by HHS is part of a long-standing effort to persecute people of faith, as it audaciously tried to force Catholic nuns to pay for birth control in their health insurance plans without exception.
The Biden administration has shamelessly promised Americans that its HHS proposals will not stifle religious freedom, but these promises fall short as the administration weaponizes its “nonpartisan” HHS against religious Americans and opens the door for other government agencies to do the same. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra continues to target and ignore religious freedom protections, even going so far as to abandon the case of a nurse who was illegally forced to participate in an abortion.
Fortunately, Christian health sharing ministries, such as Solidarity HealthShare, provide an ethical alternative to traditional health insurance. Free from federal monetary assistance, these ministries offer members high-quality care at a reasonable price without compromising their sincerely held beliefs. In the wake of HHS’s atrocious new rule, health sharing ministries stand ready to welcome marginalized conscientious Americans into their fold.
Religious Freedom Under Attack: Biden’s HHS Targets Americans of Faith
Religious believers in the United States are facing a relentless attack from government forces seeking to erode their conscience rights in healthcare. The Biden administration’s recent amendment to Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act requires people of faith to fund elective abortions and transgender surgeries through their health insurance, leaving them with no option but to withdraw from their insurance providers or violate their deeply held beliefs.
