Religion-based organizations and spiritual freedom advocates are vital of a brand new Biden administration rule that re-interprets the definition of “sex” present in Part 1557 of the Inexpensive Care Act to incorporate “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
On Friday, the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers introduced plans to implement a rule that interprets the definition of “sex” in Part 1557 of the Inexpensive Care Act, barring discrimination to “pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.”
The HHS Workplace for Civil Rights and the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers elaborated on the implications of the brand new rule in a collection of statements printed Friday.
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“Today’s rule is a giant step forward for this country toward a more equitable and inclusive health care system, and means that 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,” mentioned HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “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.”
OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer maintained that the brand new rule “exemplifies the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing commitment to health equity and patient rights.”
“Traveling across the country, I have heard too many stories of people facing discrimination in their health care. The robust protections of 1557 are needed now more than ever,” Rainer mentioned.
“Whether it’s standing up for LGBTQI+ Americans nationwide, making sure that care is more accessible for people with disabilities or immigrant communities, or protecting patients when using [artificial intelligence] in health care, OCR protects Americans’ rights,” she added.
Non secular liberty advocates condemned the brand new rule and warned of its adverse implications on faith-based healthcare suppliers.
In a press release Monday, Chris Faddis of the faith-based healthcare community Solidarity Healthshare slammed the event as “an attack on people of faith” and “blatant discrimination against religious Americans who object to participating in or paying for products and procedures that violate their beliefs.”
“By expanding the definition of ‘sex’ to include ‘gender identity,’ physicians and medical staff can no longer opt out of performing morally objectionable surgeries, like transgender surgeries, without the risk of losing critical federal funding,” he continued. “This shameless targeting of faith-based healthcare systems and providers is unacceptable, but sadly not unexpected given this administration’s track record of hostility towards people of faith.”
In an X thread, Luke Goodrich of the spiritual liberty regulation agency Becket said that the Biden Admin “just decreed that doctors nationwide must perform gender transitions or suffer federal penalties.”
He described the brand new rule as a “scheme” that’s “bad for patients, bad for religious liberty, and illegal.”
Goodrich shared a screenshot of the brand new rule declaring that “a covered entity” below the Inexpensive Care Act should not “deny or limit health services sought for purpose of gender transition or other gender-affirming care that the covered entity would provide to an individual for other purposes if the denial or limitation is based on an individual’s sex assigned at birth, gender identity, or gender otherwise recorded.”
Goodrich asserted that below the brand new rule, “doctors who offer hormones for menopause, or mastectomies for breast cancer, must do the same for girls who want to look like boys.”
“A similar rule from the Obama Admin was nixed by federal courts [two times],” he mentioned, adding, “Prior courts ruled it would violate religious freedom to force doctors to perform transitions that would violate their consciences and could harm patients.”
The brand new rule is scheduled to grow to be regulation 60 days after its publication within the Federal Register. Whereas it was filed on Friday, the official rule shouldn’t be scheduled to be printed till Might 6. Which means that the rule is predicted to take impact in early summer time. Goodrich predicted “more litigation,” forecasting “more losses for the federal government.”
The brand new rule has drawn the help of LGBT advocates. Human Rights Marketing campaign President Kelley Robinson referred to as the rule a “crucial step forward.”
“Countless Americans can now find solace in knowing that they cannot be turned away from health care they need just because of who they are or who they love,” Robinson mentioned in a press release.
“This important milestone would not be possible without years of advocacy from HRC and our partners who refuse to accept discrimination of any kind for LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized Americans.”
The rule’s implementation comes almost two years after it was first proposed. As defined within the unpublished model of the rule posted Friday, the discover of proposed rulemaking printed within the Federal Register in July 2022 drew 85,280 public feedback.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Submit. He might be reached at: [email protected]
“Well bless their hearts.”
