Trump Admin Launches Massive Hospital Investigation

A recent ACLJ pro-life victory has spurred the Trump Administration into action. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reached out to us after visiting the ACLJ website and learning about our New Mexico case regarding five ultrasound technicians being forced to participate in abortion or lose their jobs. And now HHS is launching a federal investigation into the New Mexico hospital.

We owe this massive development to our ACLJ Members and Champions who have been fighting alongside us for years. Because of your generous support that funds our fight to protect the unborn, the Trump Administration is paying attention to the ACLJ’s pro-life legal work.

To be sure, many pro-lifers had concerns that RFK Jr.’s evolving views on life would negatively affect the pro-life cause. But now his department is leading the charge in rooting out unconstitutional attacks on religious conscience.

And let’s be honest: The Biden White House would never have launched such an investigation into defending the First Amendment rights of Christian medical professionals. Conversely, it rescinded laws protecting religious conscience.

Here is a brief recap on our pro-life case that caught the Trump Administration’s attention: Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque changed its policies in late 2024 to require participation in abortion procedures – even for longtime employees with religious objections. When these five ultrasound technicians expressed their concern about the hospital’s new direction, they were told that refusing to comply could lead to reassignment or even termination.

That’s when the ACLJ stepped in. We sent a demand letter outlining the hospital’s obligations under federal law – including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Church Amendments – which prohibit employers from discriminating against employees who object to participating in abortions on religious grounds. Soon after, the hospital reversed course and granted religious accommodations to each of our clients.

And that leads us to finding out that President Trump’s HHS Office for Civil Rights is initiating a compliance review into the hospital’s actions and its adherence to federal conscience protection laws. Again, this miraculous development occurred after HHS officials read about our pro-life victory on a blog on our website.

My dad, ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, joined the broadcast to explain the longstanding history of the ACLJ’s pro-life work:

In 1988, we were called Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism, and we had a case that was very controversial at the time, representing Operation Rescue, pro-life protests in the ’80s and ’90s, led by Randall Terry. And we . . . had a case in Atlanta that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court on abortion protests. We had cases out of Wichita that went to the Supreme Court. Anyway, there was a series of them, and we were successful in both getting the jurisdiction so they couldn’t go into federal court in the first place, and number two, ultimately on the First Amendment free speech issues. . . .

We’ve had this happen a few times where we go into criminal court . . . and then the prosecutor – the state – totally folds. I will tell you where it’s happened the most: on these pro-life cases. Pat Monaghan, one of the founders and senior members of the ACLJ, and I tried hundreds of cases just like this in Ohio. We tried them all over the country. . . . The fight for life is always on the front lines. It’s the crisis pregnancy centers. It’s the pro-life sidewalk counselors. It’s the protesters. That’s free speech, and that has to be protected.

We are immensely proud of the ACLJ’s history in fighting for the unborn. I can’t express enough our gratitude to the ACLJ Members and Champions who stand by us daily to defend the unborn. And your donations are making a difference, even to the point of propelling the Trump Administration’s involvement.

If you want to join our efforts, sign our petition to defend the constitutional rights of Christian nurses and doctors. No one should be forced to violate their religious conscience to participate in murdering an unborn child. And please consider making a donation: As today’s development proves, your support is effecting change.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included a full analysis of the Trump Administration launching an investigation into the New Mexico hospital that attempted to force ultrasound technicians to participate in abortions – after learning about the issue on our ACLJ website. Also, ACLJ Senior Advisor for National Security and Foreign Policy Ric Grenell commented on President Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia.

Watch the full broadcast below: