Dear Friend,  

The administration might have hoped that the Supreme Court leak and news of the impending overruling of Roe v. Wade would distract Americans from its regulatory action (more on this later), but I am not going to let them pull the wool over your eyes.  Hidden in plain sight, all the administrative agencies are pushing in unison on one agenda item: gender transition coverage on demand and defying our First Amendment freedoms.  

This isn’t a new priority. In 2016, on its way out the door, the Obama administration issued a federal mandate that required doctors to perform gender transition procedures on any patient, including a child, even if the doctor believed the procedure would be harmful. Not to mention, the mandate required nearly all private insurance companies and most employers to cover these procedures in their healthcare plans—contraceptive mandate-style. Not only was this transgender mandate a disturbing intrusion of the government into the patient-doctor relationship, but it was also a serious violation of religious liberty. The mandate provided no exemption for doctors who had religious objections to removing healthy organs and prescribing puberty blockers to children.  

Representing religious healthcare providers Franciscan Alliance and the Sisters of Mercy, among others,  in two different cases, Becket won protection for religious healthcare providers against the mandate. But the government won’t take “no” for an answer. Any day now, Biden’s HHS will publish a new version of the transgender mandate, doing their best to get around our cases and impose these mandates.  

What’s happening at Becket

I made you scroll down for my thoughts on the leak. You don’t need me to tell you that this was an egregious violation of ethics and break with the traditions of the Supreme Court. And the Chief Justice, while he agreed the draft was authentic, noted the severity of the breach of trust and the process to investigate the origin. But for us, as practitioners before the Court, we have to take the information in stride. We don’t know whether this will change the Court’s timing for releasing this opinion—it will happen when it happens. What we do know is that this opinion can change, and the vote can change. As we fully expect and are prepared for plenty of fighting in the states, and religious freedom and medical conscience rights will feature prominently to define when life begins and what protections it will be afforded.  

Passing on the faith to the next generation. We have been gearing up for oral argument in another church autonomy case, Starkey. Religious schools exist in large part to pass the teachings of a faith onto the next generation, and the First Amendment promises them the right to decide who is fit to do just that. Becket is defending an Indianapolis Catholic school’s right to employ teachers who respect and adhere to Catholic Church teaching. In addition to the ministerial exception, we are also seeking to defend the school under Title VII’s own religious exemption—a seldom-litigated provision ripe for further development in the courts. Oral argument took place yesterday—read our press release here.  

Semper fi—to their faith, too. Captain Sukhbir Toor and three Marine recruits have a simple request: to be allowed to grow beards in accordance with their Sikh faith. Despite granting exemptions for other reasons (such as medical), Captain Toor and his soon-to-be fellow Marines are prohibited from growing beards during training and deployment to combat zones. Becket is representing the Sikh Marines and arguing that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) clearly protects their right to grow their religious beards, especially when so many others are allowed to grow beards for other reasons. 

“At stake in this case is not just the job of one football coach, but the future of religious expression in public schools,” Becket’s Lori Windham wrote for Real Clear Politics after oral argument in the Coach Kennedy case at the Supreme Court. Coach Joe Kennedy was penalized and eventually fired by his school district for engaging in silent, private prayer after high school football games. Becket filed a brief in the case arguing, among other things, that in America, public schools shouldn’t shy away from diverse expressions of faith.  

Becket in the news

“[N]ever forget the human element in these fights.” My piece for the Daily Caller recalls the early days of the pandemic lockdowns, the devastating consequences they had—and continue to have—on our society, and how religious liberty cases ended up being our lifeline to normalcy and community. 

The numbers don’t lie—Americans care about religion. Becket’s Katie Geary writes that the over-the-top restrictions on houses of worship during COVID, and the resistance of government and employers to accommodate religious practices, simply don’t match what Americans want.  

A force to be reckoned with. Earlier this month, the Christian Chronicle profiled our very own Lori Windham. Not only is she a wife, mother, and active participant in her faith community—providing ASL interpretation for deaf congregants—she’s also a Supreme Court advocate! You’ll recall that she argued, and won unanimously, in our Fulton case before SCOTUS last summer. Stay tuned for a special edition anniversary podcast episode celebrating the victory and Lori’s achievement.  

What we’re reading (and listening to)

Remembering Senator Orrin G. Hatch. With his loving family and many friends, we remember Senator Hatch: dedicated father and husband, champion of religious liberty and father of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), remarkable Senator, talented writer and composer. 

Interview with Bill Barr. I had the chance to interview former Attorney General William Barr, hearing about his experiences as AG, religious liberty, and the subject of his book, on my EWTN show. Watch here. 

Save Oak Flat. To mark Earth Day, we released our video of Apache Stronghold’s fight to save Oak Flat, their sacred site, from destruction by a foreign mining company.