[Lifesite] Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas handed religious medical professionals a win Tuesday by ruling against an Obama-era requirement that would have forced them to provide “gender-reassignment” treatment against their will.
In 2016, five states – Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas, and Wisconsin – joined the Franciscan Alliance, the Christian Medical Association, Specialty Physicians of Illinois, the Christian Dental Association, and other healthcare providers in a lawsuit against the Obama administration’s rule that “sex” discrimination covers “gender identity” and “termination of pregnancy.”
They argue that the decree, if enforced, would essentially force Christian hospitals and other healthcare nonprofits to allow gender-confused persons to use restrooms facilities of the opposite sex, as well as insurance coverage for abortions and gender “transitions.”
O’Connor granted the plaintiffs a temporary injunction against enforcing the rule, which the Trump administration said it would review. O’Connor ruled in December that the case could proceed so as not to leave the plaintiffs in legal limbo, and Tuesday issued a ruling siding with the religious groups in Franciscan Alliance v. Azar. [To keep reading, click here]
[Editor’s Note: This article was written by Calvin Freiburger and published by Lifesite. Title and photo changed by Pulpit and Pen]
