Federal judge rules HIV drug mandate violates religious freedom

From [HERE ]A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday ruled that requiring employers to provide the HIV prevention drug PrEP violates their religious freedom.

The judge, Reed O’Connor of Fort Worth, also called into question mandatory coverage of all preventive health care services — a stance that could have a wide-ranging impact on the future of the 2010 health care law.

That law requires employers to provide preventative care, and Reed's ruling is not the first time the Texas judge has issued a decision to chip away at the law. In 2018, O'Connor ruled the entire health law was unconstitutional, a ruling the Supreme Court overturned in 2021.

In the case at hand, Braidwood Management Inc. et al. v. Becerra, six individuals and two businesses challenged the legality of the preventive care mandates under the Constitution and Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The latter prohibits any government agency from substantially burdening an individual’s religious practice.

Braidwood provides health insurance to employees but objected to coverage for PrEP because the plaintiff believes the Bible is “the authoritative and inerrant word of God." The company argued that providing coverage of PrEP drugs "facilitates and encourages homosexual behavior, intravenous drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage between one man and one woman."