Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is taking a stand against the Biden administration’s new mandate that requires healthcare providers to perform transgender surgical procedures, including on children, while forcing states to foot the bill. Bailey, along with the American College of Pediatricians and attorneys general from several states, is filing a lawsuit to prevent what he calls “out-of-touch federal bureaucrats” from imposing these procedures on healthcare providers using taxpayer dollars.
The lawsuit argues that doctors should not be compelled to harm children and challenges the updated rule in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which now includes “gender identity” and “termination of pregnancy” as protected categories. The lawsuit alleges that the rule threatens to punish doctors and states that do not comply with the mandate by imposing financial penalties and excluding them from federally funded healthcare programs.
Conservative states are enacting laws to restrict transgender procedures for minors, with some going as far as making it a felony to provide gender-transition prescriptions or perform surgical procedures on minors. On the other hand, some states have implemented “shield laws” to protect these procedures for transgender individuals.
The lawsuit comes amidst a growing debate over transgender healthcare and the rights of healthcare providers to refuse certain procedures. The Biden administration’s mandate has sparked controversy and legal challenges, with Missouri Attorney General Bailey leading the charge against what he sees as government overreach in the healthcare sector.
