Department of Health and Human Services takes action to ‘enforce conscience rights’

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Jan 22, 2026 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced policy actions to “affirm the dignity of life consistent with the Hyde Amendment.”

The enforcement “holds a state accountable for limiting the rights of conscientious objectors in a manner that violates federal law,” said Paula Stannard, director of HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR), in a Jan. 21 press release.

“To receive the benefits of Illinois’ liability shield, Illinois forces providers with conscience objections to refer patients for abortion — compelling them to participate in the very procedure they oppose,” she said.

The actions include a Notice of Violation from OCR to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker; Kwame Raoul, Illinois’ attorney general; and Mario Treto, secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. HHS’ notice said the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act (HCRCA) violates law as it relates to abortion.

According to HHS, the state “engaged in impermissible discrimination when it amended the HCRCA to require providers with a conscience objection to certain services to counsel patients about, refer patients for, and/or make arrangements for, the performance of or referral for, such services.”

OCR reported the state is in violation of the Weldon and Coats-Snowe Amendments, which are federal protection laws prohibiting government entities from discriminating against health care workers, institutions, or insurance plans that refuse to provide, pay for, or refer abortions.

The “enforcement action holds a state accountable for limiting the rights of conscientious objectors in a manner that violates federal law,” Stannard said.

Other ‘comprehensive actions’

OCR also announced other actions the agency said would advance the rights of physicians, facilities, and health care personnel “to live out their professions without compromising their conscience regarding abortion and the dignity of human life.”

To “educate the public” on the matter, OCR released a nationwide “ Dear Colleague Letter” summarizing federal health care protection statutes, including laws specific to abortion, sterilization, and assisted suicide.

The letter highlighted the statutes that prohibit government discrimination against individuals and institutions that decline to participate in services, generally based on religious beliefs or moral convictions.

OCR also released three public notices describing how the actions align with the Trump administration’s presidential action, Enforcing the Hyde Amendment. The notices “describe OCR deregulatory actions that repudiate or rescind Biden-era documents that are outdated or inconsistent with the law.”

The announcement of the policy actions “builds on HHS’ recent efforts to safeguard conscience rights more broadly including investigations to protect health care workers, support whistleblowers, and reinforce adherence to religious and conscience exemptions in the Vaccines for Children Program,” according to the HHS statement.