title:  Newly Leaked Executive Order Will Turn A FRIGHTENING Number Of Christian ‘Morals’ Into Law
text: It seems the Trump administration will stop at nothing to codify the religious-right s insanely narrow beliefs into law. After backing off an earlier executive order that would have legalized all manner of discrimination against LGBTQ individuals, it appears there s a draft of a new order out that s far broader, and far scarier.A copy of the draft order was obtained by The Nation and other outlets, and would do the following: The draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it seeks to curtail women s access to contraception and abortion through the Affordable Care Act. The order refrains from specifically mentioning Christianity, and the administration no doubt thinks that makes it Constitutional. Under this order,  religious exercise  applies to  any act or refusal to act that is motivated by a sincerely held religious belief, whether or not the act is required by, or central to, a system of religious belief. As such, it would prohibit the government from denying tax-exempt status, or financially punishing, religious organizations that are involved in politics.That, in turn, makes it clear that it would reward people who discriminate against LGBTQ individuals, oppress and control women, and even reward people who seek to stop things like comprehensive sex-ed because it supposedly encourages pre-marital sex, and more, just because of their religious beliefs.It could even open the floodgates for so-called  gay conversion therapy,  despite its dangers, and despite its being condemned by every medical and psychological organization out there.But wait! That s not all. This order requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to exempt anyone who objects even to preventive medical care on religious grounds. It does not specify what types of preventive care, but it s not hard to see that they re targeting women s healthcare here, including hormonal birth control, as well as vaccines.The preventive care mandate within the ACA actually has a separate section for women s care, including screening for STDs, breast cancer, UTIs, HPV and cervical cancer, as well as well-woman visits (which covers pap smears and other routine exams).The mandate also requires health insurers to cover vaccines for children from birth to age 18, as well as cervical dysplasia screenings for sexually active adolescent girls, and HIV screenings for sexually active adolescents.Should the preventive care mandate go away, the ones who will be hurt the worst will be women and girls, and that s intentional since the religious right is all about controlling women and their behavior.According to The Nation s story, a professor at Georgetown University s Law Center, and expert on church-state separation and religious freedom, says: This executive order would appear to require agencies to provide extensive exemptions from a staggering number of federal laws without regard to whether such laws substantially burden religious exercise. Moreover, the exemptions would raise serious First Amendment questions, as well, because they would go far beyond what the Supreme Court has identified as the limits of permissive religious accommodations. He would be extremely surprised if the Office of Legal Counsel were to certify this order in part because it greatly expands the definition of  religious exercise  to mean anything for anyone, it seems.Perhaps worst of all is that it would cover federal employees, which could lead to discrimination including denying people care at the VA or denying them Social Security benefits, simply because they have a stated  sincerely held  belief against enabling whatever.If this order is signed, LGBTQ individuals will be subject to hideous discrimination, women will lose access to preventive care and birth control, and without court intervention, it will likely lead to making Christianity the law of the land. Trump and his administration are way out of control with unconstitutional executive orders.Featured image by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images