Obama Rule Forced Doctors to Perform Sex Changes, Trump Admin Works to Reverse It

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is working to restore protections to health workers who object to performing sex changes for transgender people.

Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to CBN News they plan to roll back an Obama-era rule that requires doctors, hospitals and insurance companies that receive any form of federal reimbursement, like Medicare, to perform the surgeries.

A federal judge in Texas has found parts of the rule are unlawful after eight states, a network of Catholic hospitals, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association, representing 19,000 doctors, challenged it.

The judge temporarily stopped enforcement of the rule, saying Congress has outlawed discrimination on the basis of sex, that is "the biological differences between males and females," not transgender status.

"That is an excruciatingly narrow and legally incorrect definition of the term 'sex' that would jeopardize legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," Jennifer C. Pizer, law and policy director at the pro-gay group Lambda Legal, told the New York Times.

Under the Obama-era rule, health insurers are required to cover counseling, psychotherapy, hormone therapy and surgery for people who want to change their gender.

HHS has submitted a draft of a new rule for the White House to review.

The Obama-era rule doesn't allow exemptions for Christians and others with a moral objection to performing or covering the procedures.