A federal judge has vacated a Biden administration rule that extended anti-discrimination protections to gay, lesbian and transgender patients in federal health care programs.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti claimed victory in the case, saying the rule “force(d) radical gender ideology into every corner of American health care.” Skrmetti noted in a news release that the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Missouri not only eliminates the current protections but “makes it more difficult for future administrations to revive them.”
Skrmetti and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch led a 15 Republican state coalition challenging the rule to protect patients from gender-identity discrimination in programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act plans and other programs receiving federal funding.
The rule was adopted by the Obama administration, set aside under Trump’s first administration then reinstated by President Joe Biden. It was intended to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in doctors’ offices and preserve access to gender-affirming care for transgender patients based on Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex for recipients of federal dollars.
The appeals court, however, concluded that when Congress enacted Title IX in 1972, it “only contemplated biological sex.”
The decision was issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr., a George W. Bush-appointee.