Religious Employers Target Abortion, IVF, Transgender Rules

A pair of employers are challenging an array of regulations from the Biden administration that support those seeking an abortion or IVF, arguing the mandates violate their religious beliefs.

The case is notable for its opposition to accommodating in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which the plaintiffs call “immoral.” The lawsuit comes in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court decision that temporarily halted IVF services in the state, prompting lawmakers there to reverse course following public outcry. It’s also the latest in a series of lawsuits testing the administration’s expansion of nondiscrimination rules for transgender people.

The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute and church network USATransForm, doing business as United in Purpose, sued the Department of Health and Human Services and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday over four rules and sets of guidance. The two religious groups are focused on spreading evangelical messages and improving voter turnout.

The complaint alleges a recent HHS rule requires employers to cover abortion and gender-affirming care in employee health plans under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, while related EEOC guidance requires employers to cover gender-affirming care under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The lawsuit also targets an EEOC rule that requires employers to accommodate abortions and IVF under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, as well as guidance that requires employers to use “false pronouns” and grant access to bathrooms that correspond with the worker’s gender identity.

“The moral implications of mandating employer accommodation of abortion and immoral infertility treatments are immense as they require covered employers to support and devote resources, including by providing extra leave time, for employees seeking to terminate fetal life,” the groups wrote in the complaint.

The plaintiffs are represented by S|L Law PLLC and First & Fourteenth PLLC.

The case is Dr. James Dobson Family Institute v. Becerra, N.D. Tex., No. 4:24-cv-00986, Complaint filed 10/15/24.