U.S. District Judge Daniel M. Traynor sided with the Christian Employers Alliance in its lawsuit against two Biden administration rules – one involving health insurance and the other involving mandates for doctors, nurses and medical professionals. Both rules prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
The Biden administration’s rules conflict with the ministry’s beliefs that “male and female are immutable realities defined by biological sex” and that “gender reassignment is contrary to Christian Values.”
Traynor granted the ministry’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the two rules, writing that enforcement would “invariably cause a chill on the free exercise of the Plaintiff’s religious doctrine.”
Traynor wrote in his opinion – “The Alliance must either violate its sincerely held beliefs or face monetary losses, fines, and even civil liabilities. The Plaintiffs and their members face a very real irreparable harm if they are either forced to comply or if they refuse to comply.”
Shannon Royce, president of the Christian Employers Alliance, applauded the judge’s decision saying, “The administration’s mandates are crippling for the countless Christian-owned and operated businesses seeking to care well for their employees without the fear of punishing fines, burdensome litigation costs, the loss of federal funds, and even criminal penalties.”