The Trump's administration's Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule on Friday that will roll back health care protections for transgender people.
The rule, established along with the Affordable Care Act, prevents health care providers from denying transgender patients health care by banning discrimination on the basis of "gender identity." When HHS announced its plans to scrap this policy, advocacy groups and lawmakers alike began criticizing the move as damaging to a vulnerable group of Americans. The new policy will reportedly allow health care providers to further lean on religious exemptions.
As The New York Times' Michael Gold pointed out, the timing is particularly noteworthy, since the announcement comes "in the middle of Pride month, on the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, during a pandemic.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
An HHS official said the move "will eliminate mass confusion that was unleashed by the Obama-era decision to redefine sex to cover a wide array of gender identities," reports Axios. The nonprofit Human Rights Campaign quickly announced a legal challenge to the rule.
-
The struggles of Aston MartinIn the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rightsThe Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
-
Grecotel Luxme Dama Dama: Greek luxury with a breezy beach vibeThe Week Recommends Rhodes is reimagined in this refined and relaxed resort
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
