Religious Institutions Update: January 2018

Nathan "Nate" A. Adams IV and Shannon B. Hartsfield are partners in our Tallahassee Office.

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By Shannon B. Hartsfield

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Jan. 18, 2018, the creation of a new division within its Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR is described as the "law enforcement agency" within HHS that enforces federal laws protecting civil rights and conscience in health and human services, and the security and privacy of individual health information. HHS indicated that the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division will allow HHS to focus on the enforcement of "existing laws protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom, the first freedom protected in the Bill of Rights." OCR Director Roger Severino stated, "Laws protecting religious freedom and conscience rights are just empty words on paper if they aren't enforced. No one should be forced to choose between helping sick people and living by one's