Washington, D.C. – A federal judge in Texas blocked Monday a Biden Administration initiative to force doctors and hospitals to perform gender transition procedures on patients even when those procedures have the potential to cause medical harm or violate the conscience rights of the doctors and hospital personnel involved.
The decision by Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas permanently enjoins the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra “from interpreting or enforcing” the law “in a manner that would require them to perform or provide insurance coverage for gender-transition procedures or abortions, including by denying federal financial assistance because of a failure to perform or provide insurance coverage for such procedures or by otherwise pursuing, charging, or assessing any penalties, fines, assessments, investigations, or other enforcement actions.” It’s the second time the mandate has been blocked in the federal courts.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for compassion, conscience, and common sense,” The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s Luke Goodrich said after the decision was issued. “No doctor should be forced to perform controversial, medically unsupported procedures that are contrary to their conscience and could be deeply harmful to their patients.”
The case challenging the policy, Franciscan Alliance v. Becerra, was brought by a religious hospital, an association of over 20,000 healthcare professionals, and nine states as part of the continuing legal battle still being fought over the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare. It was the Obama Administration in fact that originally issued the mandate and attempted to bring every doctor in the country subject to it, making those who refused for any reason subject to litigation and other possible consequences including the imposition of financial penalties.
As a result of suits brought after the policy to enforce cooperation throughout the medical community on elective abortions and transgender reassignment surgery, the mandate was blocked in court in 2016. The Biden Administration recently announced however that it would attempt to enforce it once again as part of its effort to expand the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
“These religious doctors and hospitals provide top-notch medical care to all patients for everything from cancer to the common cold,” Goodrich said. “Everyone benefits when doctors are able to follow their professional medical judgment and their Hippocratic Oath to ‘Do No Harm.’” The administration has 60 days in which to decide whether it will appeal Judge O’Connor’s decision.
Peter Roff can be reached at RoffColumns AT GMAIL.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com
Peter Roff
Peter Roff is affiliated with several Washington, D.C. public policy organizations and is a former U.S. News and World Report contributing editor who appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.
Taylor you are banned because you is no democrat.
An American judge
Wow Imagine That, they are Enforcing the most important tenet of the hippo-cratic oath, Do NO HARM…. and preventing any federal funds as well from being spent…. you wanna be queer you gonna pay for it yourself….
The same could be said for abortions. When women choose to terminate their pregnancy, the cost should be borne by them. Every liberal program in existence would end tomorrow if liberals were made to fund those programs out of their pockets.
TIME FOR THE WACKO TO GO, Cuomo resigns folks,
How about the rest of the democrat governor’s? who were involved with election fraud ? senior nursing home deaths? defund the police departments, leading to more crime and murders? and of course aiding in illegals entry to the United States by not upholding their oath of office to protect their States from virus spreads.? Time for Democrat recalls, clear the nuts from their National corruption of office.
Right. Chicago and Seattle, possibly Los Angeles and San Francisco and Oakland now look like Back to the Future Part TWO. But the nightmare will not end until the electorate wake up.
Common, legal sense come forth.
Soon the communists will purge the judges, starting by packing the Supreme Court, just as their friend, and fellow communist, Hugo Chavez did in the communist paradise Venezuela. Today, Maduro has Cuban guards, as Venezuelans can not be trusted. Will the Democrats ask the Chinese to provide them personal protection?
I think as soon as we see CHICOM guards, what “we” have been thinking about for a while will come to pass. Open season and no limits.
They are coming through the southern border in stealth mode and as college students.
those scummy azzholes have already talked to the united negro clowns in new dork city.. should have the 1st to the 7th go floor to floor in the un and gather up ambassadors that represent countries friendly to the USA and book them a room in the Waldorf Astoria. The rest need to be loaded on a leaky tramp steamer with a sub escort… tell the steamer captain that his ONLY destination is Tripoli.. if he makes the wrong turn the sub’s CO is authorized to do torpedo practice… with live torpedos …
First these people need some big time counseling Second they need to pay for it themselves. Third they need to be old enough to make such a drastic decision, ie over 21.
Once Mike Lindell discloses all the Election fraud and treason, most of these corrupt Governors, Mayors and other Officials involved in the sting will be eliminated
Becerra is not a real human and therefor cannot hold office. He has no father! Typical Biden unqualified selection.
when has law stopped dems? just asking….