Recently, the State Department released its 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The annual report tracks the status of human rights around the world, detailing how nations are handling everything from life and freedom of speech to fair trials and government corruption.  

And that’s not all. Since 2009, the State Department report has also measured how sexually progressive countries are tracking sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) policies. This is a way that progressive administrations have pressured nations to align with progressive ideology. 

But pressuring states to adopt SOGI policies actually leads to increased human rights violations. When adopted, religious minorities are pressured to conform and punished for refusing, all of which leads to restrictions on rights of conscience. And when doctors are forced to violate their conscience and professional expertise, the harm to patients may be irreversible.  

Faddish ideologies should never determine global priorities.