The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is investigating whether an employee at a Michigan hospital system was fired for refusing to use a patient’s preferred pronouns and assisting in “sex trait modification” procedures, the agency’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Friday.
The health care worker allegedly requested religious accommodations from certain employment practices like using patients’ preferred pronouns even if they do not match with their sex and from helping with “certain sex trait modification procedures,” according to a press release from the HHS.
An HHS spokesperson has yet to respond to questions from The Hill on the name of the health care system under investigation.
If the employee was fired for this reason, the press release states, the termination was a violation of federal conscience laws.
The investigation will look into whether the health system has policies that align with federal conscience laws, also known as Church Amendments, that seek to accommodate health care workers with religious beliefs that conflict with certain health care procedures.
The investigation will also examine the specific circumstances related to the health care worker’s firing.
“OCR is committed to enforcing Federal conscience laws in health care,” HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Paula M. Stannard said. “Health care workers should be able to practice both their professions and their faith.”
This is the third investigation regarding conscience rights in health care the department has launched since President Trump returned to office in late January.
“Today’s announcement is part of a larger effort to strengthen enforcement of laws protecting conscience and religious exercise,” the agency said in a statement.
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