Christian Doctor’s Digest – March 2018
In this month’s episode, Dr. David Stevens’ focus is on the new Health and Human Services Division on Conscience and Religious Freedom. He interviews Roger Severino, the Director for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Sara Hellwege, who filed a federal lawsuit in 2014 on the basis of discrimination due to her religious and moral convictions.
Faith & Health and Freedom of Faith and Conscience
Meet Our Guests on This Episode
Roger Severino
Individual Interview Location within the program: 1:25
Roger Severino is the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He previously served as Director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society in the Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity at The Heritage Foundation. Before joining Heritage in 2015, Mr. Severino was a trial attorney for seven years in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division where he enforced the Fair Housing Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He has litigated cases under sex, race, national origin, religion, disability, and familial status discrimination. Mr. Severino was previously chief operations officer and legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Mr. Severino holds a JD from Harvard Law School, received a master’s degree in public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Southern California.
Sara Hellwege, MSN, CNM
Individual Interview Location: 12:22
Sara Hellwege is a Certified Nurse Midwife who filed a federal lawsuit in 2014 on the basis of discrimination due to her religious and moral convictions and involvement in the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Since that time, the case has settled; however, Sara is a passionate advocate for conscience/religious protections for healthcare professionals. She recently began her own company focusing on holistic care, including health promotion and spiritual encouragement of women and their families. Previously, she worked in private practice and was a preceptor for medical and nurse practitioner students. In 2010, she married David, a registered nurse, and they have one child. In her spare time, Sara is the Chair/President of the Coalition of Christian Nurse Practitioners, which is a newly formed specialty section of CMDA, and volunteers with her local pregnancy crisis center.
Faith & Health and Freedom of Faith and Conscience