With just days left in the White House, the Trump administration continues to push through changes that many fear will have lasting implications for the nation.
The latest change is the rollback in protections that were meant to support the LGTBQ community. The new ruling that was finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services and published in the Federal Register on January 12th stipulates social services agencies that receive government funding will now have the ability to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The HHS is just one of nine federal agencies that have been encouraged by the Trump administration to revise standards and guidelines in order to protect religious freedoms.
Ruling Clashes with Obama-Era Religious Freedom Restoration Act
The new ruling goes against the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) which was implemented during the Obama Administration. RFRA kept agencies from discriminating on the basis of sex, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Additionally, the Act recognized same-sex marriage as legal unions.
The ruling explains that the department is “committed to the principle that every person must be treated with dignity and respect and afforded all of the protections of the Constitution and statutes enacted by Congress – and to fully enforcing such civil rights protections and requirements.”
The rule goes on to explain, “Given the careful balancing of rights, obligations, and goals in the public-private partnerships in federal grant programs, the Department believes it appropriate to impose only those nondiscrimination requirements required by the Constitution and federal statutes.”
The new ruling, which will go into effect on February 11th, has received ample backlash because of concern that there will be lasting implications in all parts of society supported by social services programs. The impact is feared to be felt through agencies that deal with fostering and adoption, elder care, HIV prevention, and homelessness.
Critics also argue that the new ruling will further marginalize individuals who were meant to benefit from these federal grant programs in the first place. For others, the new ruling solidifies the administration's four-year attempt to allow adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against prospective parents.
Julie Kruse is the director of federal policy for Family Equality, an advocacy group for the LGBT community. Kruse shared with NBC News that this new ruling specifically targets child welfare groups in the fact that faith-based adoption agencies will now be able to discriminate against who they work with. The ruling could allow these faith-based organizations to deny services to those with a specific marital status or personal beliefs that differ from their own.
Supporters of the ruling have shared the sentiment that they want the freedoms of churches to be preserved. As the ruling explains, “A number of commenters, specifically addressing foster care and adoption or other child welfare programs, supported the proposed rule to prevent government discrimination against religious adoption and foster care providers or faith-based agencies, which should not need to choose between helping children and their deeply held beliefs and should be free to serve children and families according to their beliefs.”
Before the rule was finalized, over 10,000 comments were collected during the 30-day comment period. Much of the feedback received during the comments period expresses the support in rolling back protections for LGBTQ communities as it aligned with their religious beliefs. Supporters explained that the proposed rule "corrected the RFRA violations in the 2016 rule, alleviated discrimination against faith-based organizations, and would protect against religious discrimination.”
The finalization of this rule comes not long after the Health and Human Services Department Secretary Alex Azar shared that the department would not enforce anti-discrimination protections that applied to federal grantees. This statement quickly led to a lawsuit that was filed on behalf of LGBTQ advocacy groups, Family Equality, SAGE, and True Colors United.
While the ruling has been implemented on the heels of Trump’s departure, there is anticipation that the Biden administration will work to quickly reverse it.
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