NationStates

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:17 pm**

NPR wrote:The Trump administration on Friday finalized a rule that would remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people when it comes to health care and health insurance.

"HHS respects the dignity of every human being, and as we have shown in our response to the pandemic, we vigorously protect and enforce the civil rights of all to the fullest extent permitted by our laws as passed by Congress," said Roger Severino, who directs the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services, in a written statement announcing that the HHS rule had become final. The rule is set to go into effect by mid-August.

It is one of many rules and regulations put forward by the Trump administration that defines "sex discrimination" as only applying when someone faces discrimination for being male or female, and does not protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Supporters of the new rule said this is a necessary reversal of Obama-era executive overreach and will reduce confusion about the legal meaning of "sex discrimination." Critics argue the rule could further harm an already vulnerable group — transgender people — in the midst of a pandemic and historic unrest spurred by the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

"I can't help but wonder if the timing [of this rule] is by design so that this is something that people won't pay attention to," said Tia Sherèe Gaynor, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati.

This is quite literally the most reprehensible thing that I have witnessed today: to see protections for trans people get rolled back, especially on the fourth anniversary of the Pulse shooting is just sickening. My blood is boiling with rage, and I vehemently oppose this measure, particularly as according to Lindsey Dawson, "[u]nder the new rule, a transgender person could, for example, be refused care for a checkup at a doctor's office," which can be used by doctors to discriminate against trans people.

What are your thoughts on this reprehensible document?

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:41 pm**

I think we take a step back for every step forward we take. Society is being impaired of evolving to be better. Trump is trying to unravel all of the progress made in the 21st century so far, all for appeasement to get the yeehaws to vote for him.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:43 pm**

Shameful.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:43 pm**

Sundiata wrote:Shameful.

...Sorta odd that you'd have that opinion, tbh
It's correct, but y'know, unexpected

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:46 pm**

Is this him pandering to his evangelical base?

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:47 pm**

Roger Severino should face the same discrimination from a doctor with an opposed religious viewpoint

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:48 pm**

Rusozak wrote:I think we take a step back for every step forward we take. Society is being impaired of evolving to be better. Trump is trying to unravel all of the progress made in the 21st century so far, all for appeasement to get the yeehaws to vote for him.

Yeah, I think it's as if they're trying to get the social conservative vote, and seeing something like healthcare protections for transgender people being rolled back in the States will probably be seen as a fucking victory by those social conservatives, even if this will lead to a fuckton of trans people suffering due to this. Frankly, I'm livid that they are even rolling back this shit, even though I don't live in America.

Cekoviu wrote:
Sundiata wrote:Shameful.

...Sorta odd that you'd have that opinion, tbh
It's correct, but y'know, unexpected

As the old saying goes, a broken clock is right twice a day.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:50 pm**

Outer Sparta wrote:Is this him pandering to his evangelical base?

Is the Pope in the Vatican?

DragonsCradle wrote:Roger Severino should face the same discrimination from a doctor with an opposed religious viewpoint

Given how right-wingers swung from "GIVE ME MY HAIRCUT OR GIVE ME DEATH" to "obey the fucking cops and stay at home" in an instant, I'd imagine they'd oppose discrimination against them, while supporting discriminating trans people.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:50 pm**

Luziyca wrote:Source

NPR wrote:The Trump administration on Friday finalized a rule that would remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people when it comes to health care and health insurance.

"HHS respects the dignity of every human being, and as we have shown in our response to the pandemic, we vigorously protect and enforce the civil rights of all to the fullest extent permitted by our laws as passed by Congress," said Roger Severino, who directs the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services, in a written statement announcing that the HHS rule had become final. The rule is set to go into effect by mid-August.

It is one of many rules and regulations put forward by the Trump administration that defines "sex discrimination" as only applying when someone faces discrimination for being male or female, and does not protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Supporters of the new rule said this is a necessary reversal of Obama-era executive overreach and will reduce confusion about the legal meaning of "sex discrimination." Critics argue the rule could further harm an already vulnerable group — transgender people — in the midst of a pandemic and historic unrest spurred by the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

"I can't help but wonder if the timing [of this rule] is by design so that this is something that people won't pay attention to," said Tia Sherèe Gaynor, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati.

This is quite literally the most reprehensible thing that I have witnessed today: to see protections for trans people get rolled back, especially on the fourth anniversary of the Pulse shooting is just sickening. My blood is boiling with rage, and I vehemently oppose this measure, particularly as according to Lindsey Dawson, "[u]nder the new rule, a transgender person could, for example, be refused care for a checkup at a doctor's office," which can be used by doctors to discriminate against trans people.

What are your thoughts on this reprehensible document?

From what I can understand, this is only a formalization of something that was a quiet status quo under the current administration. Trump hasn't been enforcing the protections all along.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:52 pm**

Luziyca wrote:
Outer Sparta wrote:Is this him pandering to his evangelical base?

Is the Pope in the Vatican?

So it's business as usual. Got it.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:55 pm**

As a reminder, the 2016 interpretation of Section 1557 was rendered toothless almost as soon as it came into effect:

On December 31, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Franciscan Alliance Inc. et al. v. Burwell, preliminarily enjoined, on a nationwide basis, HHS’s attempt to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and termination of pregnancy as sex discrimination in the 2016 Rule. This federal court concluded the provisions were likely contrary to applicable civil rights law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act... On October 15, 2019, the U.S. [DC for ND of] Texas issued a final judgment, in which it vacated and remanded the provisions it deemed unlawful. This final ruling is binding on the Department, despite the appellate proceedings that were brought by intervenors.

Consequently, as a matter of law, HHS has not had the ability to implement or enforce the provisions on gender identity and termination of pregnancy in the 2016 Rule since December 2016, and such provisions have been vacated since October 2019.

Yes, December 2016. That's three whole weeks before Trump got into office. If anything, we should be laughing at the Republicans in the Senate for stalling the Equality Act rather than the Republicans in the White House for... erm... this?

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:11 pm**

NPR wrote:"HHS respects the dignity of every human being, and as we have shown in our response to the pandemic, we vigorously protect and enforce the civil rights of all to the fullest extent permitted by our laws as passed by Congress," said Roger Severino, who directs the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services, in a written statement…

Yet this is the exact opposite of what it does.

I've been deliberately misgendered in both healthcare as well as employment even though I'm a straight male-bodied human male who identifies as such because I supposedly 'don't look male enough' or whatever. It's dehumanizing and there's no reason for it.

I will say that when I reported the healthcare discrimination, they let me know that even though it wasn't someone employed at their office that under their internal policy I had the right to be treated with respect by everyone present (including other patients, vendors, etc.). I'm being vague because despite the disrespect I'm not going to make similar baseless assumptions of the other person. I was able to quickly move on and I also found out in a roundabout way there are people in the overall community that unfortunately go around deliberately doing it. >:(

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:43 pm**

On the anniversary of the Orlando shooting?

Goddamn, that's either an incredible coincidence or it is intentional. The latter seems more likely.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:47 pm**

Denying medical care = bad.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 9:00 pm**

Stellar Colonies wrote:On the anniversary of the Orlando shooting?

Goddamn, that's either an incredible coincidence or it is intentional. The latter seems more likely.

Yeah, it is more likely that was intentional. He did, after all, recently schedule a rally on Juneteenth in Tulsa, i.e. the place where Black Wall Street got destroyed.

South Odreria 2 wrote:Denying medical care = bad.

Definitely.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 9:02 pm**

You know I'd act shocked, but that'd be stupid considering the GOP and Blumpo been transphobic since day one. I mean I shouldn't be narrowing it considering the entire government has just been on a huge anti human rights streak for I dunno, the past 200 or so years.

To state the very obvious: Trans rights are human rights. Organize with your buddies and get state and local governments to help alleviate the pain. Because this bloated corpse of a country is only gonna get worse, even if you get Trump out. Be gay, do crime.

Posted: **Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:42 pm**

So how the heck is this "restoring the rule of law"?

And what did the Log Cabin Republicans have to say about this attack on their rights by their party?

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2020 12:31 am**

Vassenor wrote:
And what did the Log Cabin Republicans have to say about this attack on their rights by their party?

I would suspect many of them have nothing to say because most LGBTQ people who support the Republican Party are well-off enough to not have to worry about these things. If they run into problems with medical care they have good insurance or money to go somewhere else, just like how Caitlyn Jenner can support Trump because she's privileged enough to not have to give a shit.

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2020 12:44 am**

I too love the 21stcentury.

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2020 1:09 am**

"HHS respects the dignity of every human being, and as we have shown in our response to the pandemic, we vigorously protect and enforce the civil rights of all to the fullest extent permitted by our laws as passed by Congress"

we protect your rights
to the fullest extent
permitted by Congress

We'd protect you even more than that, honest, but it's Congress's fault for not ordering us to. Yeah right.

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2020 2:17 am**

Also apparently this change also strips disabled people of these same protections. Just... what the actual fuck.

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2020 3:00 am**

Vassenor wrote:Also apparently this change also strips disabled people of these same protections. Just... what the actual fuck.

Where did you read this? Section 1557 has always prohibited Obamacare franchisees from discriminating on the basis of disability, a holdover from s.504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1974 - this did not change with the 2016 rule and I'm not immediately seeing how it changes with the 2020 rule.

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2020 3:10 am**

Is anyone surprised?

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2020 3:11 am**

Get in the fucking bin already Donald.

Posted: **Sat Jun 13, 2020 5:27 am**

Omg guys Donald Trump doing this on the anniversary of Pulse just made one of THE cutest College Republicans from my school come out as bi <3 I knew he was hitting on me all those years ago. I suppose that’s a silver lining on this shit pie.

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Transgender health protections rolled back in the States

Transgender health protections rolled back in the States

Re: Transgender health protections rolled back in the States