HHS Restores Religious Freedom Division in Office for Civil Rights
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on May 18, 2026, that it is restoring the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within its Office for Civil Rights. The division was dissolved in 2023 under the Biden administration.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on May 18, 2026, that it is restructuring its Office for Civil Rights to restore the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.
The division was originally created during the first Trump administration in 2018 but was dissolved in 2023 under the Biden administration, which folded those responsibilities into a broader Policy Division.
The restructured Office for Civil Rights will now operate through three subject-matter divisions: the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, the Civil Rights Division, and the Health Information Privacy, Data, and Cybersecurity Division.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the reorganization is designed to defend religious liberty with "clarity, accountability, and resolve." OCR Director Paula M. Stannard said the new structure gives conscience and religious freedom the senior executive leadership they require.
The department said the reorganization will not reduce the OCR workforce and that complaint intake will continue through a centralized Enforcement Division.
The move follows a broader push by the administration to address concerns about the treatment of religious healthcare providers. In March 2026, the OCR opened investigations into 13 states over alleged violations of federal conscience protections for individuals with moral or religious objections to abortion.
