Christian Physician Assistant Fired for Religious Beliefs Reaches $410K Settlement

After several years in court, University of Michigan Health-West has agreed to pay Christian physician assistant Valerie Kloosterman and her attorneys $410,000, as well as adopt religious freedom protection policies for all employees.

University of Michigan Health-West fired Kloosterman, who had worked there for 17 years, in 2021 after she refused to refer patients to receive sex-rejecting procedures or use their “preferred pronouns,” opting instead to address patients by their first names.

According to a July 29 press release, the new settlement also requires University of Michigan Health-West to “create a religious accommodation policy in accordance with the law, notify and train all its employees [and] grant reasonable religious accommodations without retaliation.”

The policy specifies that hospital employees will not be required to perform or refer patients to receive “transgender” surgical procedures, opposite-sex hormones or puberty blocking drugs if doing so would conflict with the healthcare provider’s religious beliefs or conscience.

Kloosterman commented,

All I wanted to do was provide the best care possible to my patients without being forced to violate my Christian beliefs. This new policy ensures that providers of faith and employees at UMHW will receive religious accommodations so that they can provide excellent care consistent with their medical judgment, because all patients are created in the image of God.

Kayla Toney, counsel at First Liberty who represented Kloosterman, further said,

Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against and punishing employees for their faith. Valerie is an exceptional physician assistant who cares for each of her patients. Employers cannot drive out people like Valerie just because of their sincere religious beliefs. We are grateful to have resolved this matter with University of Michigan Health-West.

The dispute began in 2021 when Kloosterman requested religious accommodation after a mandatory diversity and inclusion training, during which Kloosterman was prompted to affirm statements about gender that violated her Christian beliefs and Hippocratic oath to “do no harm.” Her original legal complaint documents Kloosterman’s reservations, reading:

Ms. Kloosterman’s independent medical judgment is that “puberty blockers,” “hormone therapy,” and “gender reassignment surgery” are experimental, lack validation in methodologically rigorous long-term studies, and often lead to negative clinical outcomes such as bone density loss, infection, nerve damage, chronic pain, loss of sexual and urinary functions, psychological trauma, and other serious complications.

Ms. Kloosterman’s medical judgment also counsels against entering in documentation pronouns that obscure or misrepresent a person’s biological sex, as doing so can cause patients to miss potentially life-saving screenings and procedures like pregnancy tests, mammograms, and testicular exams.

Despite Kloosterman’s excellent standing at the hospital and outstanding performance reviews in which she was called “very ethical,” a Michigan Health diversity representative referred to her as “evil,” blamed her for gender dysphoria-related suicides and prohibited her from bringing her Bible or religious beliefs to work.

University of Michigan Health-West fired Kloosterman less than a month later for her conscientious and religious objection to its diversity policies – all while it was actively providing secular accommodations for other healthcare employees.

After her termination from the hospital, Kloosterman filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her attorneys at First Liberty then requested University of Michigan Health-West reinstate her, but the hospital refused.

First Liberty filed Kloosterman’s lawsuit in October 2022. A judge allowed her free exercise, equal protection, and Title VII claims to proceed in 2023.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals heard Kloosterman’s case in early 2025, and ultimately ruled in her favor later that.

Yesterday’s final settlement of $410,000 and the hospital’s new religious freedom policy represents a monumental win for Valerie Kloosterman and Christian healthcare providers across the nation.

Related articles and resources:

Religious Liberty Commission Hears Testimony From Healthcare Workers

House Advances ‘Chloe Cole Act’ Banning ‘Transgender’ Procedures For Minors

Addressing Gender Identity With Honesty and Compassion

American College of Pediatricians: No Benefits From ‘Gender-Affirming’ Interventions

Medicalizing Gender Confusion Makes Things Worse, New Research Confirms

DOJ Releases Guidance Strengthening Religious Liberty Protections

Religious Freedom is Not a Problem to Be Managed

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