JACK DURA and JOHN HANNA.

A federal judge has ruled that two federal agencies cannot punish Catholic employers and health care providers if they refuse, for religious reasons, to provide gender-affirming care to transgender patients or won’t provide health insurance coverage for such care to their workers. The ruling Thursday from North Dakota’s chief federal judge bars the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing a 2024 health care rule that said health care providers risked losing federal funds if they refused to provide gender-affirming care. The judge also barred the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from telling employers that failing to have their health plans cover gender-affirming care would be discriminatory.