Legal Help

Conscience-Protecting Regulations

How to Report Discrimination

"If you believe that a covered entity discriminated against you (or someone else) on the basis of conscience or religious freedom, coerced you to violate your conscience or religious beliefs, or burdened your free exercise of religion, you may file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). You may file a complaint for yourself, your organization, or for someone else." – HHS Conscience and Religious Freedom Division

Option 1:

Seek initial counsel, without obligation, from a nonprofit legal organization.

Option 2:

Report discrimination directly to HHS: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Nonprofit Legal Firms​

​The non-profit, public interest legal foundations below typically provide counsel without cost to clients.

Alliance Defending Freedom
The Alliance Defense Fund is a pro-life law firm that defends the sanctity of life and the right to practice life-affirming medicine throughout the United States.  Among its many conscience rights cases, in 2011 ADF successfully required Vanderbilt University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to stop requiring health personnel to assist in abortions, and also represented the Christian Medical Association in a winning case to uphold a state law protecting the conscience rights of pro-life health professionals. ADF offers free advice and representation through its hotline: 1-800-TELL-ADF.
 

To discuss an existing or potential legal matter, please contact our Legal Assistants via email at [email protected]. Include your full name, your contact information, a brief summary of your situation, and a specific statement of the assistance you seek.  We prefer email correspondence, but if email is unavailable to you, please call (202) 349-7220.  We respond to intake requests as our schedule allows. Due to court schedules and other time commitments, it may take us several business weeks to respond to your request. Note that we do not respond directly to plaintiffs in land use matters.  Please have your attorney contact us at [email protected].

200 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: 202.955.0095
Business Hours: 9am-6pm M-F

email: [email protected]

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS)

HHS Office of Civil Rights: Here to Serve You