Transgender Children? Court to Rule on HHS Mandate

A Texas court is expected to rule soon on an HHS mandate lawsuit that plaintiffs say forces doctors to perform transgender surgeries on patients who request it, even if the patient is a child and it goes against the doctor's medical judgment.

The Christian Medical and Dental Association, five states and a hospital system are challenging the federal government, saying the rule would force doctors to perform sugeries they don't believe are in the best interest of the patient.

The lawsuit calls the HHS rule a "radical invasion of the federal bureaucracy into a doctor's medical judgment" and says it could result in significant, long-term medical harm.

The Becket Fund, a religious liberty advocacy group representing the plaintiffs, notes that the government does not require coverage of gender transition procedures in Medicare or Medicaid programs because HHS experts have not found conclusive evidence that gender reassignment surgery improves health.

Likewise, gender identity experts say that many children work through their gender struggles by their teen years.  In "Understanding Gender Dysphoria," Dr. Mark Yarhouse, a psychologist at Regent University, notes "most cases of gender incongruence in childhood resolve by the time the child reaches adolescence or adulthood."

The Texas plaintiffs also allege that the federal rule forces health care professionals to violate their religious beliefs.  The Christian Medical and Dental Associations represent more than 17,000 health care professionals and the Franciscan Alliance represents a network of religious hospitals founded by the Sisters of St. Francis.  Other plaintiffs include the states of Texas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kentucky and Kansas.

LGBT advocates say the lawsuit threatens to harm health care for transgender people.  Louise Melling, deputy legal director at the ACLU said "no one--whether they're male or female, transgender or not--should fear being turned away at the hospital door because of who they are."  She added "religious liberty does not mean the right to discriminate or harm others."

The Becket Fund says it expects the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to rule before Jan. 1, 2017.