Florida sues Biden administration over new transgender health care rule
Florida’s top prosecutor and a Catholic medical group sued the Biden administration in an effort to block a rule that they say will force doctors to provide gender transition care against their judgment or face heavy penalties.
Florida’s top prosecutor and a Catholic medical group on Tuesday sued the Biden administration in an effort to block a rule that they say will force doctors to provide gender transition care against their judgment or face heavy penalties.
The lawsuit by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Catholic Medical Association (CMA), filed in federal court in Tampa, takes aim at a new rule, published by the U.S. Department of Health and Services (HHS) on Monday that would ban discrimination in health care on the basis of gender identity.
The rule is based on an anti-discrimination provision within the Affordable Care Act, the national health insurance law better known as Obamacare, which forbids sex discrimination.
In their complaint, Moody and CMA say the new rule goes beyond the anti-discrimination law. They say it would force doctors to provide, and insurance to pay for, treatments including puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries for transgender minors and adults against their medical or ethical judgment.
They also said the rule conflicted with a Florida law banning such treatments, which are known as gender-affirming care, for minors.
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