Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Christian Healthcare Centers, a unique nonprofit that sees patients at two primary care offices in the state. According to the CHC website, the doctors and nurse practitioners who formed CHC in 2015 left behind a for-profit structure and dropped medical insurers to set up a “MemberCare” program for patients. Part of that vision for patient care is based on biblical values which are now in obvious conflict with the State of Michigan.
“Today, Michigan is more free and fair than it was yesterday,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared in July, when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled “sexual orientation” is covered under the state’s civil rights laws.
According to Alliance Defending Freedom, the doctors at Christian Healthcare Centers are aware of the court ruling. They are now concerned for how far state government will go to impose its views on the medical nonprofit, such as being forced to hire non-Christians and to be forced to use personal pronouns if employees and patients demand them.
“So Christian Healthcare Centers filed this lawsuit to protect its ability to operate consistent with its beliefs,” ADF attorney Bryan Neihart tells AFN, “because religious organizations should be free to operate and serve the community according to their beliefs."
In her statement last month, after the state court ruling, Gov. Whitmer promised to use the power of the state to defend “LGBTQ+ Michiganders” whom she said deserve to be “treated with dignity and respect by law.”
In a similar statement, Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist called the ruling a “tremendous victory” for every Michigander who “believes in equality and justice for all.”
Penalties for violating the state civil rights law include $50,000 fines, potential loss of licensure, and even jail time.
That wokeness goes beyond powerful Democrats in Michigan's highest public offices: The American Medical Association supports the mental illness-ignoring transgender craze, too, including the usage of "personal pronouns" such as "they" and "them." "
The lawsuit filed Monday names Attorney General Dana Nessel because she can use her public office to punish Christian Healthcare Centers.
In addition to the lawsuit, ADF filed a preliminary injunction motion to prevent enforcement of the law against Christian Healthcare Centers while the case moves through the federal courts.
Neihart predicts a ruling on the preliminary injunction within the next several months.
