On September 12th 2019, we filed an amicus brief in the New York cases challenging the “conscience rule” as well as in the parallel California cases. In early November, courts in both New York and Washington state vacated the rule, which was set to go into effect late this month.
In the New York case, Judge Englemeyer found that HHS had overstepped its authority in promulgating the rule, which he found went beyond the legal protections put in place by Congress. In particular, he found that HHS’s promulgation of the rule was arbitrary and capricious because the stated rationale for the law—an alleged significant increase in complaints about workers being forced to violate their conscience—was “flatly untrue.” State of New York v. U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Slip. Op. at 80 (Nov. 6, 2019). “The Rule,” he said, “represents a classic solution in search of a problem.” Id. at 88.
During the hearing discrimination against vulnerable groups, including LGBTQ+ people, was discussed at some length. We know that filing this brief was important to our mission, and we sincerely hope that our expertise on how this rule would affect members of LGBT communities with cancer carried real weight.
