Federal Court Stops Trump Anti-Trans Health Care Change from Taking Effect
A federal court has stopped a Trump Administration rollback of health care protections for transgender Americans from taking effect while a lawsuit plays out in the wake of a Supreme Court decision. from earlier this summer, reports the New York Times.
The ruling could have a significant impact not only when it comes to health care for transgender citizens, but also in other areas in which the change could have opened them up to discriminatory treatment.
The Times summarized that the rule the Trump administration wanted to do away with
...sought to reinterpret a civil rights provision of the Affordable Care Act that barred discrimination in health care settings on the basis of race, national origin, sex, age or disability.
The Trump administration contends that "the plain meaning of the word 'sex' as male or female and as determined by biology," and "sex discrimination" laws do not apply to questions of sexual identity, recalled political news outlet The Hill.
But a case decided by the Supreme Court in June found that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extends to LGBTQ workers, and under that law employers may not discriminate against them. Legal scholars immediately speculated that the administration's attempt to do away with protections for trans people included in the ACA would similarly be unable to proceed.
That was also the view of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, reported The Times. Judge Boasberg wrote:
"When the Supreme Court announces a major decision, it seems a sensible thing to pause and reflect on the decision's impact."
LGBTQ equality group Lambda Legal, which was involved in the case, expressed appreciation for the ruling, with senior attorney Omar Gonzalez-Pagan stating:
" We are very gratified by the court's detailed and extensive analysis in putting on hold two key aspects of the Trump administration's rule that threatened lives and well-being of LGBTQ people in the midst of a pandemic."