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A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 25 May 2019
Administration moves to revoke transgender health protection

By RICARDO ALONSO- politics," he said.
ZALDIVAR Under the Obama-era fed-
Associated Press eral rule, a hospital could
WASHINGTON (AP) — be required to perform
The Trump administration gender-transition proce-
moved Friday to revoke dures such as hysterecto-
newly won health care dis- mies if the facility provided
crimination protections for that kind of treatment for
transgender people, the other medical conditions.
latest in a series of actions The rule was meant to carry
that aim to reverse gains by out the anti-discrimination
LGBTQ Americans in areas section of the Affordable
ranging from the military to Care Act, which bars sex
housing and education. discrimination in health
The Health and Human Ser- care but does not use the
vices Department released term "gender identity."
a proposed regulation that The proposed new rule
in effect says "gender iden- would also affect the notic-
tity" is not protected under es that millions of patients
federal laws that prohibit get in multiple languages
sex discrimination in health about their rights to transla-
care. It would reverse an tion services. Such notices
Obama-era policy that the President Donald Trump delivers a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, often come with insurer
Trump administration al- May 22, 2019, in Washington. "explanation of benefits"
ready is not enforcing. Associated Press forms. The Trump adminis-
"The actions today are part tration says the notice re-
and parcel of this admin- House Speaker Nancy Pe- gender identity into ac- has opened the door to quirement has become a
istration's efforts to erase losi, D-Calif, said the ac- count in offering someone discrimination against needless burden on health
LGBTQ people from fed- tion shows "utter contempt a bed for the night and transgender people seek- care providers, requiring
eral regulations and to for the health, safety and concluded in a 2017 Jus- ing needed medical care billions of paper notices to
undermine nondiscrimina- humanity of women and tice Department memo of any type, Severino re- be mailed annually at an
tion protections across the transgender Americans." that federal civil rights law sponded, "I don't want to estimated five-year cost of
board," said Omar Gon- The administration also does not protect transgen- see that happen." $3.2 billion.
zalez-Pagan, a senior at- has moved to restrict mili- der people from discrimina- In some places LGBT peo- The American Civil Liber-
torney on health care at tary service by transgen- tion at work. As one of her ple are protected by state ties Union served notice it
Lambda Legal, a civil rights der men and women , first policy moves, Educa- laws, said Lambda Legal expects to challenge the
organization representing proposed allowing certain tion Secretary Betsy DeVos attorney Gonzalez-Pagan, rule in court when it is final.
LGBT people. homeless shelters to take withdrew guidance that "but what do you say to Louise Melling, ACLU dep-
allowed students to use people living in a state that uty legal director said the
bathrooms matching their doesn't have state-explicit potential impact could go
gender identity. protections? Do they move beyond LGBT people and
More than 1.5 million Ameri- their home?" also subject women to dis-
cans identify as transgen- Behind the dispute over le- crimination for having had
der , according to the Wil- gal rights is a medically rec- an abortion.
liams Institute, a think tank ognized condition called That's because the pro-
focusing on LGBT policy at "gender dysphoria" — dis- posal would remove "ter-
the UCLA School of Law. A comfort or distress caused mination of pregnancy" as
bigger number — 4.5% of by a discrepancy between grounds for making a legal
the population— identify the gender that a person claim of sex discrimination
as lesbian, gay, bisexual or identifies as and the gen- in health care, one of the
transgender (LGBT), ac- der at birth. Consequences protections created in the
cording to Gallup. can include severe depres- Obama years. Abortion
Pushing back against crit- sion. Treatment can range opponents had argued
ics, the HHS official over- from sex-reassignment sur- that the Obama regula-
seeing the new regulation gery and hormones to peo- tion could be construed
said transgender patients ple changing their outward to make a legal argument
would continue to be pro- appearance by adopt- for federal funding of abor-
tected by other federal ing a different hairstyle or tions. UCLA legal scholar
laws that bar discrimination clothing. Jocelyn Samuels, who over-
on the basis of race, color, Many social conservatives saw the drafting of the HHS
national origin, sex, age disagree with the concept. transgender anti-discrimi-
and disability. "Sex is not subjective, it is an nation rule under Obama,
"Everyone deserves to be objective biological real- said that rule reflected es-
treated with dignity and re- ity," Tony Perkins, president tablished legal precedent
spect," said Roger Severino, of the Family Research that transgender people
who heads the HHS Office Council, said in a state- are protected by federal
for Civil Rights. "We intend ment supporting the Trump anti-discrimination laws.
to fully enforce federal laws administration's move. The "This administration has
that prohibit discrimina- proposed rule will ensure manifested its intent to roll
tion." that federal law "isn't used back that well-considered
Asked about the charge as a vehicle to advance understanding in every
that the administration transgender or abortion context," she said.q