The Obama administration’s bathroom mandate dominated headlines on Friday, but another ruling that managed to sneak under the radar is likely to makes conservatives just as angry.
The same day that the White House told public schools to acknowledge transgender rights or risk lose federal funding, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a final rule on Obamacare demanding that health care providers help individuals cover treatment costs for sex change operations and abortions.
The regulation “prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability; enhances language assistance for individuals with limited English proficiency; and protects individuals with disabilities,” the agency said in a release.
Family Research Council Vice President of Government Affairs, David Christensen, said his organization is strongly opposed to the new Obamacare rule because it clearly threatens religious freedom.
“HHS's final rule concocts out of thin air a redefinition of sex discrimination to include both gender identity and abortion,” Christensen said in a statement. “This intolerant and unjust rule, in turn, threatens to force health care providers to participate in and perform services that substantially violate their consciences.”
The HHS rule does not include exemptions for religious organizations, but it “does not displace existing protections for religious freedom and conscience,” the government agency insists.
Yeah, no one's convinced.