Judge blocks Biden admin. from requiring tax dollars be used to fund sex-change surgeries
A federal judge in Mississippi has blocked the implementation of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule that would interpret the Affordable Care Act to include protections for gender identity and require Medicaid funding of sex-change surgeries.
U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola of the Southern District of Mississippi issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday in the State of Tennessee et al. v. Xavier Becerra et al, siding with with 15 states suing HHS and prohibiting the Biden administration from enforcing a final rule that would reportedly require states to use taxpayer funds to cover cosmetic sex-change interventions for trans-identified minors.
The rule, similar to one enacted during the last year of the Obama administration before being rescinded under former President Donald Trump, would require providers and insurers that receive federal funds from providing or covering surgical or hormonal gender interventions.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"Plaintiffs have demonstrated that the May 2024 Rule will cause concrete, imminent injury in the form of compliance costs," Guirola, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote. "Plaintiffs have demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that HHS exceeded its statutory authority."
"Plaintiffs have no assurance that they will be excused from incurring compliance costs when the May 2024 Rule goes into effect. Plaintiffs therefore have established a substantial threat of imminent irreparable harm."
Guirola suggested the Biden administration incorrectly relied on the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which dealt with employment discrimination, to justify its healthcare rules. The administration has often cited the Bostock ruling upon issuing regulations related to LGBT discrimination protections.
"Analysis of the language and provisions of Title IX, as well as its regulations, provides even more support for finding that the Bostock holding does not apply to Title IX and Section 1557 [of the Affordable Care Act]," the judge contends.
Mississippi Attorney Lynn Fitch, whose state is one of those suing, said in a statement that putting "gender identity into our state's medical system is a dangerous pursuit of a political agenda from the Biden Administration."
"Medical professionals should not be forced to provide gender transition surgeries or drugs against their judgment and hospitals should not be prohibited from providing women-only spaces for patients," stated Fitch.
"And States should not be forced to forfeit Medicaid dollars because they pass laws that reflect the will of the people, but not the will of this White House."
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, the head of what is reportedly the largest LGBT advocacy group in the United States, denounced the preliminary injunction.
"The discrimination LGBTQ+ people will continue to experience under this injunction is indefensible. This ruling is not only morally wrong, it's also bad policy. Everyone deserves access to the medical care they need to be healthy and thrive," said Robinson in a statement.
"Instead, this court has sided with the fringe groups and politicians who want to bully our community at every opportunity. This isn't over: all LGBTQ+ people should receive the health care they deserve and be able to make informed decisions about our own bodies."
In May, HHS issued a final rule, slated to take effect on July 5, regarding Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of color, national origin, race, age, disability and sex.
The final rule, which defined "sex" to include gender identity and sexual orientation, was championed by the administration as improving antidiscrimination policies in healthcare.
In a statement made in April, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra called the measure "a giant step forward for this country toward a more equitable and inclusive health care system."
"Americans across the country now have a clear way to act on their rights against discrimination when they go to the doctor, talk with their health plan, or engage with health programs run by HHS," he said.
"I am very proud that our Office for Civil Rights is standing up against discrimination, no matter who you are, who you love, your faith or where you live. Once again, we are reminding Americans we have your back."
