The Trump administration is making religious liberty a cornerstone of federal health policy, reorganizing the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights to prioritize conscience protections and the free exercise of religion.

The move, announced on Sunday, comes as the Justice Department released a report last Friday emphasizing religious liberty in disputes involving abortion, vaccine mandates, and gender-related medical treatments — issues that have become major flashpoints during President Donald Trump's second term.

Under the reorganization, HHS said its Office for Civil Rights will focus on "protecting the free exercise of religion and conscience and the right to be free from coercion in HHS-conducted or funded programs."

The policy applies to federal agencies, state and local governments, healthcare providers, health plans, and other recipients of HHS funding.

An HHS official told The Guardian the overhaul is intended to strengthen enforcement by "protecting conscience rights, addressing race-based discrimination in a color-blind manner, combating antisemitism and anti-Christian bias, and restoring biological truth."

The changes underscore the administration's effort to bolster religious freedom protections while rolling back policies enacted during former President Joe Biden's administration on issues such as transgender medicine and federal vaccine requirements.

Critics contend the new emphasis could reshape how HHS enforces civil rights laws.

"They are very much putting religious freedom front and center," Dorit Reiss, a professor at University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, told The Guardian.

"It tends to privilege a conservative form of Christianity and, for example, protect discrimination against LGBTQ people," she said.

Reiss also argued the administration could use federal funding to encourage states and healthcare organizations to comply with its priorities.

"This suggests they will use their funding authority to pressure states and local government and private groups," she said.

Liz Sepper, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told the outlet she believes the reorganization signals that pro-life priorities will receive greater attention at HHS.

"This is, of course, being framed in terms of religious liberty, but it's not really about that," she said.

"I think it's a really clear signal to the right-to-life movement that some of their priorities are going to be coming to the top at the agency."

Sepper also pointed to the Church Amendment, a federal law enacted in the 1970s that protects healthcare workers and institutions from being required to perform or assist in abortions or sterilizations if doing so conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs.

She said the law has frequently been involved in disputes over abortion providers, adding, "I would guarantee that we will not see the Trump administration's HHS go to work to stop that kind of discrimination."

The DOJ report also questioned vaccine mandates by citing anti-vaccine activists and parents opposed to vaccinating their children.

Reiss maintained such policies have traditionally been left to the states, saying, "These are not traditional things for the government to intervene with."

The administration is also expected to issue a new religious conscience rule in the coming months.

Sepper said the HHS reorganization appears intended to lay the groundwork for implementing and enforcing that policy once it is formally released.