close
close

Mississippi judge blocks Biden’s attempt to provide LGBTQ+ medical treatment • Nebraska Examiner

Posted on by Dsen .N

A federal judge in Mississippi has blocked the implementation of a Biden administration rule that aims to prevent people seeking treatment based on their gender identity or sexual orientation from being denied health care.

The lawsuit, which U.S. Southern District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. ruled Wednesday, was filed by 15 states, including Mississippi and Nebraska. But he said his order blocking the Biden administration from enforcing its rules would apply nationwide.

It is likely that this ruling will be appealed.

On social media, the Human Rights Campaign declared: “This is not the end. All LGBTQ+ people should receive the healthcare they deserve and be able to make informed decisions about their own bodies.”

A rule focused on entities receiving federal funds

A Biden administration rule enacted earlier this year aims to ensure that people seeking health care based on gender identity or sexual orientation are not discriminated against. The rule would cover entities that receive federal funds to provide health care.

States have argued against being forced to provide gender-affirming care through Medicaid or public employee health plans. States have also argued against requiring private insurance companies to provide such care.

Attorney General Mike Hilgers. May 13, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

“Injecting gender identity into our state’s medical system is a dangerous pursuit of the Biden administration’s political agenda,” Mississippi U.S. Attorney Lynn Fitch said in a statement. “Health care workers should not be forced to undergo gender reassignment surgery or take medications against their better judgment, and hospitals should not be prohibited from providing female-only spaces for patients. I am proud to lead a multistate effort with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to stop the Biden administration and oppose this reckless rule.”

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers said in a statement Wednesday that he was “grateful for the Constitution’s proven protections.”

“Congress makes the laws, not the president,” he said. “We will continue to oppose unlawful orders that are divorced from the well-being of Nebraska and its citizens.”

The lawsuit is one of several filed by attorneys general and others challenging the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and sexual identity. Congress passed and President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law in 1972 to prohibit sexual discrimination.

In response to one similar lawsuit previously settled in Louisiana, Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said, “Every student… deserves to be safe. Every young person deserves to be protected from harassment, misgendering and abuse.”

Robinson added, referring to an earlier court ruling: “This is MAGA theater whose dangerous goal is to weave discrimination into state law.”

Mississippi Bans Gender-Affirming Care

Mississippi passed a state law banning minors from receiving gender-affirming care, even if recommended by a doctor.

On social media, Gov. Tate Reeves said, “The Biden administration has attempted to undermine Title IX by radically reinterpreting its meaning to now refer to gender identity. Thankfully, a federal judge sided with Mississippi and other states that have chosen to stand up for women and defend Title IX in its current form.”

The lawsuit by Fitch and other attorneys general argues that their states could be penalized by losing federal Medicaid funds if they fail to comply.

In blocking the rule, Guirola cited the Chevron case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court recently found that federal agencies should not be treated with deference in the rulemaking process.

This article first appeared in Mississippi Today, an independent, nonprofit news organization affiliated with States Newsroom.