OCR opens Church Amendments investigations against providers of gender-affirming care
- Date
- Actor
- HHS Office for Civil Rights
- Agency
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Type
- Enforcement/investigation
Summary
OCR reoriented its civil-rights enforcement toward "conscience" claims by clinicians who object to providing gender-affirming care. By July 2025 it had opened at least three Church Amendments investigations: one announced mid-June 2025 into University of Michigan Health (former physician assistant Valerie Kloosterman's claim she was fired for seeking a religious exemption from gender-affirming care), one involving a nurse seeking exemption from administering puberty blockers and hormones to minors, and one abortion-related matter. The initiative inverts OCR's prior posture — investigating hospitals for providing care rather than for denying it.
Status
Investigations ongoing; part of a stated broader conscience-enforcement effort.
As recorded in the data of . Check the sources for anything newer.