A Michigan healthcare system violated the religious rights of a professional with 17 years of experience when it fired her after she declined to make referrals for transgender surgery or use patients’ preferred pronouns, according to the law firm representing her.
Valerie Kloosterman was a physician assistant within the University of Michigan Health system in 2021 when she was required to undergo training that contained statements “concerning sexual orientation and gender identity that her Christian faith prohibited her from affirming,” First Liberty Institute, her law firm, said in a letter sent to University of Michigan Health.
Because completion of the training required her to check boxes agreeing with the statements, Kloosterman requested a religious accommodation from her supervisors. They declined her request.
In a July meeting with the representatives of Human Resources and the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Kloosterman was asked if she would use “gender identity-based pronouns and be willing to refer patients for gender reassignment surgery,” the letter said. Kloosterman replied that she “could not do so because of her religious beliefs and because of her independent medical judgment,” but that “she would use patients’ names in place of pronouns to respect their wishes,” the letter said.
Her comments, though, angered the director of the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the letter said.
“[He] grew hostile, visibly angry with tight...
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