(Photo by Matt Hrkac; from Wikimedia Commons)
A federal judge has ruled that federal anti-discrimination protections for transgender people in health care are unconstitutional, allowing legal discrimination in health care against trans individuals in the U.S.
Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi sided with a coalition of 15 GOP-led states that sued over the rule, which broadened sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity in health care, the Hill reported.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “exceeded its authority by implementing regulations redefining sex discrimination and prohibiting gender identity discrimination,” Guirola wrote.
The expanded definition of sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity was part of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The Biden-Harris administration implemented it to strengthen protections against health care discrimination for LGBTQ+ people. It previously prevented discrimination in health care services, insurance coverage, and program participation.
This is not the first time such protections have faced legal challenges. In 2016, the Obama-Biden administration advanced similar rules to prevent health care providers from denying services — particularly gender-affirming care — that they would otherwise offer to other patients.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, those protections were reversed when his administration redefined Title IX protections to apply only to race, color, national origin, “biological sex,” age, or disability — explicitly excluding trans people.
In 2024, the Biden-Harris administration reinstated these protections, only for them to be struck down by Republican-appointed Guirola.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti celebrated the ruling, saying in a statement, “This decision restores not just common sense but also constitutional limits on federal overreach, and I am proud of the team of excellent attorneys who fought this through to the finish.”
The decision comes as the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments on banning so-called conversion therapy, and may soon take up a case involving the right to same-sex marriage.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
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