RFK Jr.'s health department is using religious freedom to strip transgender people of health carehttps://www.advocate.com/health/hhs-transgender-care-conscience-rights 🔗Christopher Wiggins (9 Dec 2025)
The Trump administration opened a new civil rights investigation this week that LGBTQ+ advocates argue is intended to limit access to health care for transgender people, leveraging federal "conscience rights" enforcement to determine who can receive care.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights announced in a press release on Tuesday that it is investigating whether a state health department's licensing rules for behavioral health providers violate federal protections for religious and moral objections, focusing on requirements to participate in or refer for abortion care or "sex-rejecting procedures."
HHS described the action as protecting faith-based providers' ability to participate in health care without violating their beliefs.
"Amid a national shortage of behavioral health providers, every qualified professional is essential to meeting the needs of people in crisis," Office for Civil Rights director Paula M. Stannard said in the press release. "OCR is committed to ensuring that faith-based organizations can contribute fully and that no provider is asked to violate their religious beliefs or moral convictions as they step forward to serve."
A former senior HHS official said the announcement functions as an enforcement action rather than a rule change, creating legal uncertainty for providers.
