A Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Rule On Transgender Health
Much to the relief of American transgender people, a federal judge prevented the Trump administration from enforcing a new regulation that would reduce the health care protections for them. Executed just days after the Supreme Court blocked sex discrimination against LGBT individuals at the workplace, the aforesaid regulation presented by the federal Department of Health and Human Services was slated to take effect on Aug. 18.
This week's preliminary injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block in Brooklyn stops the administration from implementing the regulation until the case can be heard and decided in court. Block indicated he thought the administration's transgender rule wasn't valid citing the Supreme Court June ruling on a case that involved similar issues regarding job discrimination, NBC News reported.
Block pointed out in his order that it is sensible to consider the impact a decision could have when the Supreme Court announces a major decision, suggesting that the agency might want to reconsider. He went on to say since HHS hasn't been willing to voluntarily take that path, the court is left with no choice but to impose it.
The HHS health care rule was touted as an indication to Trump's social and religious conservative supporters that the administration continues to back them despite the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision, which was written by Trump nominated Justice Neil Gorsuch. An employee who fires a person for being homosexual or transgender terminates that individual for attributes it would have not even questioned in members of different sex, Gorsuch wrote.
This decision, Gorsuch explained is highly influenced by sex, and that's exactly what civil rights law forbids. Trump tweeted his reaction, describing it as "horrible & politically charged." Moreover, he compared it to a shotgun blast in the faces of conservative Republicans.
The HHS rule targetted Obama-era sex discrimination protections for transgender people in terms of health care. The health care rule is based on the concept that sex is determined by biology, which is similar to the underlying issues in the workplace discrimination case before the Supreme Court.
The Obama-era version, on the other hand, was based on an all-encompassing perception relying on a person's inner sense of being a female, male, a combination, or neither. The Human Rights Campaign filed the lawsuit against the Trump administration rule on behalf of two transgender women. One of the complainants is a writer and activist, the other is an Army veteran.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi deemed it a victory for the LGBTQ community and the rule of law. Judge Block was nominated to the federal bench by former President Bill Clinton.