Trump creates religious HHS division to allow Drs to opt out of abortions/tranny surgeries

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The Trump administration created a new office to help doctors and other providers to not perform services that violate their religious or moral beliefs such as abortions or transgender surgery. Health and Human Services created a new division on religious liberty in its Office of Civil Rights. The division was created as part of a direction under President Trump’s executive order last May that called for the federal government to do more to uphold religious liberty. “Too many of these healthcare practitioners have been bullied and discriminated against because of their religious beliefs or moral convictions,” said acting HHS Secretary Eric Hargan at an event at HHS in Washington on Thursday. Hargan said that there are already strong laws that ensure healthcare providers do not have to provide services that would violate religious or moral beliefs. Now those laws will be “vigorously enforced by [Office of Civil Rights],” he said. The Office of Civil Rights is HHS' law enforcement agency that enforces federal laws over civil rights and conscience. "The creation of the new division will provide HHS with the focus it needs to more vigorously and effectively enforce existing laws protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom, the first freedom protected in the Bill of Rights," HHS said.

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"For too long, governments big and small have treated conscience claims with hostility instead of protection, but change is coming and it begins here and now," said Office of Civil Rights Director Roger Severino. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., hoped the division would target a 2015 California law that requires crisis pregnancy centers to notify women of access to low-cost abortions. The pregnancy centers are often run by religious organizations and are aimed at convincing women to not get an abortion.

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