Judge Says Companies Can Deny PrEP Coverage For Religious Reasons

A federal judge from Texas, Judge Reed O’Connor has made a shocking ruling, stating that the inclusion of the HIV treatment was a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

This comes after companies Braidwood Management and Kelley Orthodontics brought the case to the US District Court. The companies were represented by Johnathan Mitchell, a man infamously known for his anti-abortion behaviour.

The companies filed the lawsuit, stating that PrEP’s coverage in the Affordable Care Healthcare Act (ACA) forced religious companies with anti-LGBTQ+ to finance and help “homosexual behaviour.”

Their argument was that including the PrEP treatment “forces religious employers to provide coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behaviour… prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use.”

Ruling Imposes Religious Beliefs

With Judge O’Connor’s ruling, neither of the companies is required to cover PrEP costs for their employers. This ruling could have a dangerous domino effect for medical treatment coverage across the US. The community health program director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, Ivy Hill believes the ruling doesn’t protect religious freedoms.

“This ruling is about imposing extreme religious beliefs — not, as it purports, about protecting religious freedom,” she told Bloomberg.

“Far-right extremist judges are attacking privacy and access to health care.”

White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre responded to the ruling, reiterating the importance of the ACA.

“In addition to making affordable health insurance available to millions of Americans, the ACA has guaranteed free access to critical preventive medical services – from cancer screenings to HIV prevention drugs like PrEP,” she said.

“That guarantee is critical to the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans, particularly LGBTQI+ Americans, people of colour… pregnant women, and others.”

Jude O’Connor Notorious For Anti-ACA Rulings

Taking to Twitter, legal journalist Chris Geidner explained Judge O’Connor’s history of ruling against ACA-related acts.

O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee, regularly rules against Democratic administrations and Democrat-backed policies — leading conservative plaintiffs to seek him out to judge their cases. He has ruled against the ACA or ACA-related policies multiple times.

— Chris “Subscribe to Law Dork!” Geidner (@chrisgeidner) September 7, 2022

LGBTQ+ Community Condemns Ruling

Several LGBTQ+ non-profit organisations have condemned the lawsuit for targeting the community while HIV treatment and accessibility to it is immensely important.

“We need a health care system that provides for both treatment of illness when people have it and also maximises our tools in preventing illness for people who need it,” Prep4All managing director Kenyon Farrow said to PinkNews.

“If that is our value as a society then preventing HIV infections should be something that we all support.”