Health care providers, governmental, entities, and others dealing with abortion, sterilization, and assisted suicide should evaluate the rights of conscious enforcement and regulatory guidance the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced January 21, 2026 period and adjust their practices accordingly.

Yesterday, HHS Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”):

• Announced its citation of the State of Illinois for violating two of a multitude of rights of conscience laws it enforces;
• Issued three public notices describing OCR deregulatory actions to align with President Trump’s E.O. 14182, Enforcing the Hyde Amendment; and
• Issued nationwide Dear Colleague Letter explaining OCR’s write of conscious policy under the Trump Administration as updated this week.

The Illinois Notice of Violation finds an Illinois state law violates the Weldon and the Coats-Snowe Amendments, which are part of the two dozen federal health care conscience protection statutes that HHS enforces. The Notice of Violation explains that Illinois law unlawfully ties health care provider conscience protections to referral requirements in the case of abortion.

OCR also released three public notices describing OCR deregulatory actions to align with E.O. 14182, Enforcing the Hyde Amendment. The new guidance rescinds or repudiates certain Biden Administration era policies that the Trump administration considers outdated or inconsistent with the law as construed and enforced under the Trump administration.

To educate the public, OCR also released a nationwide Dear Colleague Letter summarizing federal health care conscience protection statutes, including those laws specific to abortion, sterilization, and assisted suicide.

This week’s new guidance supplements previously issued Trump Administration right of conscience and relates guidance regarding gender, reassignment, and other similar policies placed into affect under the Biden Administration. See, e.g., CMS Proposes To Ban Medicare/Medicaid Participation Ban By Providers Providing Minors Gender Transition Care; HHS Enforcement Actions Warns Providers & Grant Recipients To Honor Religious Conscience Rights; Health Care, Education & Other Federal Funding Recipients Warned To Honor Parental Rights.

States and healthcare providers, dealing with abortion, sterilization, assisted suicide or other procedures involving potential rights of conscience carefully review their practices under this new enforcement and regulatory guidance and adapt their policies accordingly.

If you have questions about this or other health care concerns, contact the author. 

More Information

We hope this update is helpful. For more information about the  or other health or other employee benefits, human resources, or health care developments, please contact the author Cynthia Marcotte Stamer via e-mail or via telephone at (214) 452 -8297.

Solutions Law Press, Inc. invites you receive future updates by registering on our Solutions Law Press, Inc. Website and participating and contributing to the discussions in our Solutions Law Press, Inc. LinkedIn SLP Health Care Risk Management & Operations Group, HR & Benefits Update Compliance Group, and/or Coalition for Responsible Health Care Policy.

About the Author

Peer recognized as “Top Rated Lawyer” and “LEGAL LEADER™ “Top Rated Lawyer” and “Best Lawyer” for her work in Health Care Law, Labor and Employment Law; ERISA & Employee Benefits,” and “Business and Commercial Law,” Cynthia Marcotte Stamer is an A Martindale-Hubble “AV-Preeminent” (Top 1%) attorneys board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and management consultant, author, public policy advocate and lecturer widely known for her more than 35 years of health industry and other management work, public policy leadership and advocacy, coaching, teachings, and publications including leading edge work on PBM, pharmacy and pharmaceutical and other health care, managed care, insurance, and insured and self-insured contracting, design, administration and regulation.. 

Author of numerous highly regarded works on Section 504 and other health care, health insurance, health information technology, employment, education plan contracting and other compliance, enforcement, policy and other concerns she is  Immediate Past Chair of the ABA International Section Life Sciences Committee and the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Medicine and Law Committee, past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group and past Group Chair and current Welfare Benefit Committee Co-Chair of the ABA RPTE Employee Benefits & Other Compensation Group. 

Ms. Stamer is most widely recognized for her decades of pragmatic, leading edge work, scholarship and thought leadership on health and other privacy and data security and other health industry legal, public policy and operational concerns. 

Ms. Stamer’s work throughout her career has focused heavily on working with health care and managed care, health and other employee benefit plan, insurance and other public and private organizations and their technology, data, and other service providers and advisors domestically and internationally with legal and operational compliance and risk management, performance and workforce management, regulatory and public policy and other legal and operational concerns.  As a part of this work, she has continuously and extensively worked with domestic and international health plans, their sponsors, fiduciaries, administrators, and insurers; managed care and insurance organizations; third party administrators and other health benefit service providers; hospitals, health care systems and other health care providers, accreditation, peer review and quality committees and organizations; billing, utilization management, management services organizations, group purchasing organizations; pharmaceutical, pharmacy, and prescription benefit management and organizations; consultants; investors; EMR, claims, payroll and other technology, billing and reimbursement and other services and product vendors; products and solutions consultants and developers; investors; managed care organizations, self-insured health and other employee benefit plans, their sponsors, fiduciaries, administrators and service providers, insurers and other payers, health industry advocacy and other service providers and groups and other health and managed care industry clients as well as federal and state legislative, regulatory, investigatory and enforcement bodies and agencies.

She also has extensive experience helping health care systems and organizations, group and individual health care providers, health plans and insurers, health IT, life sciences and other health industry clients prevent, investigate, manage and resolve right of conscience; provider and employee credentialing, misconduct and other performance and behavior; managed care, Section 1557, Civil Rights Act and other discrimination and accommodation; corporate, intellectual property, general, business, and other regulatory, contractual and other compliance; vendors and suppliers; contracting and other terms of participation, medical billing, reimbursement, claims administration and coordination, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare/Medicaid Advantage, ERISA and other payers and other provider-payer relations, contracting, compliance and enforcement; Form 990 and other nonprofit and tax-exemption; fundraising, investors, joint venture, and other business partners; quality and other performance measurement, management, discipline and reporting; physician and other workforce recruiting, performance management, peer review and other investigations and discipline, wage and hour, payroll, gain-sharing and other pay-for performance and other compensation, training, outsourcing and other human resources and workforce matters; board, medical staff and other governance; strategic planning, process and quality improvement; meaningful use, EMR, HIPAA and other technology,  data security and breach and other health IT and data; STARK, ant kickback, insurance, and other fraud prevention, investigation, defense and enforcement; audits, investigations, and enforcement actions; trade secrets and other intellectual property; crisis preparedness and response; internal, government and third-party licensure, credentialing, accreditation, HCQIA and other peer review and quality reporting, audits, investigations, enforcement and defense; patient relations and care;  internal controls and regulatory compliance; payer-provider, provider-provider, vendor, patient, governmental and community relations; facilities, practice, products and other sales, mergers, acquisitions and other business and commercial transactions; government procurement and contracting; grants; tax-exemption and not-for-profit; privacy and data security; training; risk and change management; regulatory affairs and public policy; process, product and service improvement, development and innovation, and other legal and operational compliance and risk management, government and regulatory affairs and operations concerns. to establish, administer and defend workforce and staffing, quality, and other compliance, risk management and operational practices, policies and actions; comply with requirements; investigate and respond to Board of Medicine, Health, Nursing, Pharmacy, Chiropractic, and other licensing agencies, Department of Aging & Disability, FDA, Drug Enforcement Agency, OCR Privacy and Civil Rights, Department of Labor, IRS, HHS, DOD, FTC, SEC, CDC and other public health, Department of Justice and state attorneys’ general and other federal and state agencies; JCHO and other accreditation and quality organizations; private litigation and other federal and state health care industry actions: regulatory and public policy advocacy; training and discipline; enforcement;  and other strategic and operational concerns.

If you have questions about this or other health care concerns, contact the author. 

About Solutions Law Press, Inc.™

Solutions Law Press, Inc.™ provides human resources and employee benefit and other business risk management, legal compliance, management effectiveness and other coaching, tools and other resources, training and education on leadership, governance, human resources, employee benefits, data security and privacy, insurance, health care and other key compliance, risk management, internal controls and operational concerns. If you find this of interest, you also be interested reviewing some of our other Solutions Law Press, Inc.™ resources including:

• SCRA License Portability Rules Ease Employability Of Relocating Service Members & Their Spouses
• CMS Proposes To Ban Medicare/Medicaid Participation Ban By Providers Providing Minors Gender Transition Care
• HHS Enforcement Actions Warns Providers & Grant Recipients To Honor Religious Conscience Rights
• Health Care, Education & Other Federal Funding Recipients Warned To Honor Parental Rights
• HHS Extends Fall Cures Act Attestations Condition and Maintenance of Certification Deadline
• Troy Health Pays $1.4 Million+ Criminal Penalty Under 1st Non-Prosecution Agreement Under DOJ’s New Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self‑Disclosure Policy
• Stamer “Cybersecurity Jedi Skills Training” Added To 2025 Security Summit Agenda
• Prepare For Coverage Declines From Marketplace Rule Changes
• Use OIG Work Plan To Anticipate OIG Audit & Enforcement Risks

If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information including your preferred e-mail by creating your profile here.

NOTICE: These statements and materials are for general information and purposes only. They do not establish an attorney-client relationship, are not legal advice or an offer or commitment to provide legal advice, and do not serve as a substitute for legal advice. Readers are urged to engage competent legal counsel for consultation and representation considering the specific facts and circumstances presented in their unique circumstance at the particular time. No comment or statement in this publication is to be construed as legal advice or an admission. The author reserves the right to qualify or retract any of these statements at any time. Likewise, the content is not tailored to any particular situation and does not necessarily address all relevant issues. Because the law constantly and often rapidly evolves, subsequent developments that could impact the currency and completeness of this discussion are likely. The author and Solutions Law Press, Inc. disclaim and have no responsibility to provide any update or otherwise notify anyone of any  fact or law specific nuance, change, limitation, or other condition that might affect the suitability of reliance upon these materials or information otherwise conveyed in connection with this program. Readers may not rely upon, are solely responsible for, and assume the risk and all liabilities resulting from their use of this publication.

Circular 230 Compliance. The following disclaimer is included to ensure that we comply with U.S. Treasury Department Regulations. Any statements contained herein are not intended or written by the writer to be used, and nothing contained herein can be used by you or any other person, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties that may be imposed under federal tax law, or (2) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any tax-related transaction or matter addressed herein.

©2025 Cynthia Marcotte Stamer. Non-exclusive right to republish granted to Solutions Law Press, Inc.™ For information about republication, please contact the author directly. All other rights reserved.