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Texas AG files lawsuit to stop rule ‘forcing’ healthcare providers to perform gender transitions

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton arrives with former President Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal court before Trump's trial in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP) (Justin Lane)

The states of Texas and Montana have teamed up in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as multiple members of the Biden Administration in an attempt to terminate new policies surrounding gender-affirming surgeries.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement, which explained that the lawsuit stems from a new rule that was added under Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act last month.

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The section in question addresses medical discrimination on the basis of gender. The Biden Administration has issued protections that apply to both gender identity and sexual orientation, as opposed to just the sex someone is assigned at birth.

Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the administration included specific protections for transgender people, including saying that providers can’t deny transition care that would be provided to other people for other purposes. It does, however, allow for some providers to make religious freedom claims.

Paxton argued that this shift in the law forces state governments to fund gender transition procedures through Medicaid programs. He also expressed concerns that the law will force healthcare providers to perform these procedures with the threat of stripping federal healthcare funds if they refuse.

He called the rule “unconstitutional” and said it relies on “a misapplication of the Affordable Care Act.”

“This is yet another example of Joe Biden trying to sidestep the Constitution and use agency rulemaking to advance unpopular, unlawful, and destructive policies,” Attorney General Paxton said in the statement. “We are suing to stop the Biden Administration from withholding federal healthcare funds to force medical professionals to perform these experimental and dangerous procedures.”

This article was made in collaboration with a report by The Texas Tribune.


About the Author
Michael Horton headshot

Michael is a Kingwood native who loves visiting local restaurants and overreacting to Houston sports. He joined the KPRC 2 family in the spring of 2024. He earned his B.A. from Texas A&M University in 2022 and his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023.

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