Under the guise of “strengthening nondiscrimination in health care,” the Biden administration has announced a proposed rule that “would force health care workers to perform gender transition procedures, require health insurance issuers to cover them, and entertain a mandate to perform elective abortions,” the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) warned.

In their statement against the proposed rule, the bishops who chair four of the conference’s committees emphasized that “excellent care will be provided in a Catholic hospital to all patients, including patients who identify as transgender, whether it be for a broken bone or for cancer, but we cannot do what our faith forbids. We object to harmful procedures, not to patients.”

The proposed regulations “threaten our ability to carry out our healing ministries, and others’ to practice medicine,” the bishops added. “They mandate health care workers to perform life-altering surgeries to remove perfectly healthy body parts … This is a violation of religious freedom and bad medicine.”

The prelates also warned that “the proposed regulations announce that HHS is also considering whether to force health care workers to perform abortions against their will or lose their jobs. We call on HHS to explicitly disavow any such intent.”