This article was written by adamg originally published by Universal Hub on July 11, 2020
Fenway Health, the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts and the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth this week sued the federal government to stop a proposed rule that would let healthcare providers discriminate against transgender people.
The suit, filed in US District Court by plaintiffs who also include a transgender Ohio man and LGBTQ healthcare providers in New York and California, says the proposed federal “rollback” violates the anti-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act and is just “arbitrary and capricious, contrary to law, and in violation of the Constitution.”
The measure is due to go into effect on Aug. 18. In asking a judge to block that, the complaint charges:
The Rollback Rule was promulgated as part of a campaign of consistent, repeated anti-transgender sentiments, advocacy, and comments by the Administration as a whole. …. The Rollback Rule aims to denigrate LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender people: falsely characterizing them as a threat, spreading misinformation and lies about them, and turning the federal government’s efforts to combat discrimination into efforts to promote discrimination.
The Trump administration published the proposed rule, set to go into effect next month, just days after the Supreme Court ruled employers could not discriminate against gay, lesbian, and transgender workers.
In the suit, the plaintiffs charge the measure would also allow discrimination against people seeking an abortion or even care for a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy and would make it harder for people who don’t speak English by lifting a requirement to provide information in other languages.
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