New Civil Rights Mission For DOJ

The Jeff Sessions DOJ has created a new division of the Office of Civil Rights, the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, dedicated to allowing healthcare and other workers to deny treatment to LGBTQ people and women seeking abortions if it conflicts with their religious convictions. Changes have also been made to policy manuals for U.S. Attorneys’ offices and DOJ litigation offices, which will have to assign a staff member to monitor litigation and inform their political appointee higher-ups when religious freedom comes up in any suit as a part of the complaint or defense. U.S. Attorneys are now required to seek approval of the Associate Attorney General before they can proceed with any such case. “To the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, Department components and United States Attorneys’ Offices must reasonably accommodate religious observance and practice in all activities, including litigation,” the policy reads. “The Office of the Associate Attorney General has supervisory responsibility for overseeing the Department’s respect for religious liberty in litigation.”