Judge sides with Biden, rules that Christian college must open women’s bedrooms and showers to biological males​



A federal judge this week rejected a Christian college's request to bypass new rules under the Biden administration that force religious schools to open their dormitories — including shared bedrooms and shower spaces — to members of the opposite sex.

Judge Roseann Ketchmark issued the ruling Wednesday denying the College of the Ozarks a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, which would have provided temporary protection for the school while its federal court case is pending.

The school filed a lawsuit in April arguing that the Biden administration was forcing religious schools to violate their beliefs by opening up female dormitories to biological males, and vice-versa, under subject of punitive damages, six-figure fines, and attorneys' fees.

After President Joe Biden issued an executive order titled, "Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation" in January, the Department of Housing and Urban Development put forward a directive in line with the administration's new interpretation of "sex."

The directive holds that entities covered by the Fair Housing Act cannot discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Meaning that a transgender person who is biologically male but identifies as a female must be permitted to share dormitory spaces such as bedrooms, bathrooms, and showers with female students.

"The government cannot and should not force schools to open girls' dorms to males based on its politically motivated and inappropriate redefinition of 'sex,'" Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Julie Marie Blake said in a statement. The religious liberty law firm is representing the school in its legal fight.

"Women shouldn't be forced to share private spaces — including showers and dorm rooms — with males, and religious schools shouldn't be punished simply because of their beliefs about marriage and biological sex," she added. "Government overreach by the Biden administration continues to victimize women, girls, and people of faith by gutting their legal protections, and it must be stopped."

The College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian, liberal arts college in Point Lookout, Missouri, that since its founding more than a century ago has held to a belief that biological sex is assigned by God and is unchangeable.

In response to the ruling, the school's president, Jerry Davis, acknowledged he and staff were "disappointed" in the ruling, but announced that they would be appealing "so that schools are not forced to open women's dorm rooms to males and violate their religious beliefs."

"For more than 100 years, College of the Ozarks has provided a distinctly Christian education to students with financial need. We will not abandon our mission. The fight to protect our religious freedom has just begun," he said.

Biden admin reverses Trump rule, will force hospitals to provide sex-change procedures



The Biden administration took action Monday to require hospitals to perform sex-change procedures and offer other other transgender medical services or face anti-discrimination lawsuits, restoring an Obama-era policy that had been ended by President Donald Trump.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced that its Office of Civil Rights will interpret and enforce laws that prohibit discrimination based on sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity, in line with the recent Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County.

"The Supreme Court has made clear that people have a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. That's why today HHS announced it will act on related reports of discrimination," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said. "Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences. It is the position of the Department of Health and Human Services that everyone — including LGBTQ people — should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period."

The Supreme Court's 6-3 decision in Bostock established that federal laws that prohibit sex discrimination in employment also protect gay and transgender people. Days before that ruling last year, the Trump administration acted to protect the conscience rights of medical professionals who object to transgender or abortion procedures by interpreting "sex" to mean biological sex in health care law. Trump's policy was a reversal of an Obama-era rule that interpreted the Affordable Care Act to include gay and transgender people as protected classes. A federal judge blocked the Trump rule from taking effect, but the Trump administration argued that because health care law is a separate matter from employment discrimination law, it still had the power to define "sex" as biological sex in matters related to health care.

Now the Trump rule is officially gone and the Obama-era rule has been reinstated by President Joe Biden. Hospitals, clinics, and other medial providers are once again subject to government sanctions if they deny sex-change surgeries, such as hysterectomies, or hormone treatments to people who identify as transgender, while offering those procedures for other medical conditions.

"The mission of our Department is to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. All people need access to healthcare services to fix a broken bone, protect their heart health, and screen for cancer risk," Dr. Rachel Levine, the first transgender person to be confirmed as assistant secretary for health, said. "No one should be discriminated against when seeking medical services because of who they are."

Reacting to the announcement, social conservative groups warned that hospitals and medical professionals could be forced to provide sex-change procedures to anyone who demands one, even children, or face legal action.

"Make no mistake: the policy announced by HHS today is not about 'fix[ing] a broken bone' or 'screen[ing] for cancer risk.' No American was being denied access to these treatments for identifying as 'LGBTQ,'" American Principles Project President Terry Schilling said. "Rather, this policy is really about forcing hospitals and medical professionals to adhere to leftist ideology regarding sexuality and gender—and in particular to provide sex-change procedures to all comers, including children."