Federal Judge Throws Out Biden Admin's Dept. of Health and Human Services' Transgender Policy

Ashley Sadler : Nov 15, 2022
LifeSiteNews.com

The Trump-appointed judge pointed out that while "Congress could have included 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' in the statutory text," it "chose not to."

(Amarillo, TX) — [LifeSiteNews.com] A federal judge on Friday shot down the Biden administration's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) transgender policy, delivering a win for healthcare workers opposed to providing so-called "gender-affirming" care for "transgender" patients. (Image: Pexels)

US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, ruled November 11 that federal law does not prohibit healthcare providers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, contrary to the Biden administration's interpretation of an Obamacare provision, Reuters reported.

The Biden administration's HHS announced in May 2021 it would reinterpret the policy in light of the US Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which declared that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in addition to biological sex.

READ: HHS announces that gender ideology is more important than patients

In his Friday decision, however, Kacsmaryk said the Biden administration's interpretation of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was erroneous, since the Bostock ruling "does not apply to Section 1557 or Title IX."

According to the Trump-appointed judge, the HHS' arguments attempting to "retroactively apply Bostock" to Section 1557 were "unpersuasive." He pointed out that while "Congress could have included 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' in the statutory text," it "chose not to."

"Instead, Congress limited Section 1557's protections to those afforded by other federal statutes—including Title IX. Because Title IX does not protect 'sexual orientation' or 'gender identity' status, neither does Section 1557," Kacsmaryk wrote... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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