null / ShutterstockDenver, Colo., Dec 9, 2022 / 17:15 pm (CNA).The Biden administration may not force Catholic organizations and medical professionals to perform gender-transition surgeries or provide insurance coverage for them, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has said in a Dec. 9 ruling that cited religious freedom grounds."The federal government has no business forcing doctors to violate their consciences or perform controversial procedures that could permanently harm their patients," Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket legal group, said Friday. "This is a common-sense ruling that protects patients, aligns with best medical practice, and ensures doctors can follow their Hippocratic Oath to 'do no harm.'"Becket serves as legal counsel for a coalition of Catholic organizations representing hospitals, doctors, and clinics that had filed the legal challenge to the mandate issued by President Joe Biden's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS...