On Tuesday, President Joe Biden filed an appeal that would force religious doctors and hospitals to perform transgender-related procedures and surgeries regardless of objections, The Daily Wire reports.
In a series of Twitter posts on Tuesday, Luke Goodrich, who works at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty law group, asserted that Biden's appeal follows up on the administration's efforts to deem a doctor's refusal to perform transgender-related procedures "sex discrimination." In January, The Biden administration put forward the proposal, but it was rejected in court.
The Biden Admin says it can punish doctors and hospitals for “sex discrimination” unless they perform controversial gender-transition procedures. A court struck down this #TransgenderMandate in January: https://t.co/650O5rb9vy. But the Biden Admin just appealed.
— Luke Goodrich (@LukeWGoodrich) April 20, 2021
"The plaintiffs are religious doctors, hospitals, and clinics who joyfully serve ALL patients regardless of sex or gender identity. They routinely provide top-notch care to transgender patients for everything from cancer to the common cold," Goodrich wrote. "They also provide millions of dollars in free and low-cost care to the elderly, poor, and underserved – care that is jeopardized by the government's attempt to punish them with multi-million dollar penalties," he asserted.
They also provide millions of dollars in free and low-cost care to the elderly, poor, and underserved--care that is jeopardized by the government’s attempt to punish them with multi-million dollar penalties.
— Luke Goodrich (@LukeWGoodrich) April 20, 2021
Doctors and hospitals aside, Goodrich noted that the transgender mandate threatens patients because of the harmful effects of certain transgender transition procedures.
Multiple federal courts have reached the same conclusion: “There is no medical consensus that sex reassignment surgery is a necessary or even effective treatment for gender dysphoria.” Gibson v. Collier, 920 F.3d 212, 223 (5th Cir. 2019). https://t.co/O3ixZgGJXT
— Luke Goodrich (@LukeWGoodrich) April 20, 2021
"The government's own doctors during the Obama Admin agreed: 'Based on a thorough review of the clinical evidence … there is not enough evidence to determine whether gender reassignment surgery improves health outcomes for [patients] with gender dysphoria,'" he cited.
Goodrich also highlighted a recent BBC report providing evidence for the ineffectiveness of puberty blockers.
"The evidence for using puberty-blocking drugs to treat young people struggling with their gender identity is 'very low', an official review has found," the report said. "The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said existing studies of the drugs were small and 'subject to bias and confounding."
"The NICE evidence review looked at what impact puberty blockers had on gender dysphoria, mental health – such as depression, anger and anxiety – and quality of life," the report continued. "NICE, which provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care, said: 'The quality of evidence for these outcomes was assessed as very low certainty.'"
And just weeks ago, a study commissioned by NHS England found “very low” evidence for the effectiveness of “puberty blockers” and cross-sex hormones: https://t.co/mzWjNCViG8
— Luke Goodrich (@LukeWGoodrich) April 20, 2021
In closing, Goodrich contended that Biden should not have appealed the court ruling.
"The Biden Admin shouldn't have appealed. But we look forward to another ruling that protects patients, aligns with current medical research, and ensures doctors aren't forced to violate their religious beliefs and professional medical judgment."
The Biden Admin shouldn't have appealed. But we look forward to another ruling that protects patients, aligns with current medical research, and ensures doctors aren’t forced to violate their religious beliefs and professional medical judgment.
— Luke Goodrich (@LukeWGoodrich) April 20, 2021
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. seeking to protect religious liberty for all faiths.
Photo courtesy: J.C. Gellidon/Unsplash
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
