“The federal government has hounded religious hospitals…forcing them to provide services that violate their consciences,” Hargan said. “Medical students, too, have learned to do procedures that violate their consciences.”

The move is yet another example of the Trump administration’s willingness to turn the concept of religious liberty into religious discrimination. The potential is ripe for abuse of this new office by evangelicals and fundamentalists who want to impose their religious views on women and on members of the LGBTQ community.