On August 9th, 2021 a federal court in Texas, USA, blocked a White House Administration policy known as the “Transgender Mandate.”
What is the Transgender Mandate, and why is this court action important?
The Transgender Mandate
The Transgender Mandate required nearly all doctors and hospitals in the United States to perform controversial gender transition procedures on any patient — even a child — referred by a mental health professional – even if, in their medical opinion, this would be harmful to the patient. Doctors who refused to violate their medical judgement would face severe consequences, including financial penalties and private lawsuits. The Mandate also required virtually all private insurance companies and many employers to cover the cost of these procedures.
History
The Transgender Mandate was issued in 2016 by the Obama administration. Religious organizations and states sued in multiple courts, and a federal court in North Dakota put the Mandate on hold. In 2019 another federal court in Texas struck it down.
Recently the Biden administration announced that it would revive the same policy. In response, nine states, several religious organizations, and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA) immediately challenged the Mandate in two different federal courts. Both courts agreed that the Mandate is unlawful.
Freedom of conscience for health care workers, medically determined care for their patients
The Transgender Mandate would have required doctors to perform procedures they believed to be morally wrong, contrary to their faith, and medically harmful. It would have required them to violate their Hippocratic Oath, in which they vowed to “do no harm.”
“This victory in Texas against government coercion means healthcare professionals can continue to exercise medical judgment and ethical care based upon sound medical evidence and Hippocratic standards of patient care instead of any ideology” (Mike Chupp, CMDA CEO).
