Trump Administration Opens Civil Rights Investigation into Hospital that Expected Religious Techs to ASSIST with Abortions

Medical professionals with religious or moral objections to participating in abortions, so-called transgender care, or other objectionable procedures have the right to decline to participate without fear of losing their jobs.

New Mexico must have missed the memo. The American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) in October 2024, sent the former religiously affiliated Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque a letter reminding the administrators that ultrasound technicians have the right to decline to work on abortion cases. The hospital began working with an abortionist in 2024 and expected religious techs to assist.

The legal letter worked. ACLJ said that the hospital granted the ultrasound techs a religious accommodation. ACLJ recently announced that the Civil Rights Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is now investigating Presbyterian Hospital. An except:

This kind of enforcement action is both rare and significant. It sends a powerful message to healthcare institutions across the country: You cannot force medical professionals to choose between their careers and their faith.
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The Trump Administration’s action is only possible because our clients were willing to work with us to take a stand.

During his first administration, President Trump used executive action to protect the conscience rights of medical professionals. As expected, Joe Biden took away those protections.

Presbyterian Hospital did the right thing in the end for these ultrasound techs. But their previous error has opened them up to a civil rights investigation. Administrators should act now and create a religious accommodation policy or clarify an existing one.

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