We Keep LGBTQ+ Women & Girls Up-To-Date
Well, hardly a week goes by without a pro-LGBTQ announcement from the White House! So this week, on the agenda, President Biden flipped the ban that prevented protection for LGBTQ people in healthcare.
In 2016, the Obama administration banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by clarifying that the federal healthcare discrimination provision, better known as Obamacare, would protect LGBTQ people.
This rule was later reversed by the Trump administration.
Fortunately, the election of Joe Biden is putting things back in place. Protection for LGBTQ people from discrimination in healthcare is going to be available again.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra (Photo: GettyImages)
“So now it’s clear, there’s no ambiguity: You cannot discriminate against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told CNN.
The decision follows the June 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said federal law prohibiting workplace discrimination applies to LGBTQ people.
“The Supreme Court has made clear that people have a right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex and receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation,” Becerra added in a statement.
This is good news when Republican lawmakers are attacking transgender children and LGBTQ patients across the U.S. as the American Civil Liberties Union rightly pointed out.
“With healthcare for transgender youth under attack by state legislatures, this move to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in healthcare is critical,” the ACLU said.
American Medical Association Susan Bailey
Of note, the American Medical Association also welcomed the decision through its president, Susan Bailey.
“It’s unfortunate that such an obvious step had to be taken; the AMA welcomes this common-sense understanding of the law,” Bailey said.
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