WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, the four-year anniversary of the 2016 PULSE nightclub shooting and during Pride month, the Trump administration announced its final rule – a slap in the face erasing health care protections for transgender Americans. During a global pandemic when health disparities are revealing deep inequities in our system, this rule perpetuates continued discrimination, structural racism, transphobia, and homophobia.
This action makes it easier for doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies to deny transgender people health coverage by reversing an Obama administration rule that protected against discrimination on the basis of gender identity as well as sex. The rule also removes language that protected women and trans people seeking abortions, birth control, and other reproductive care.
Not only is this rule based in hateful ideology that must be eradicated from our nation, it also endangers the lives of transgender Americans. Twenty-two percent of transgender adults and thirty-two percent of transgender adults of color have no health coverage, which already significantly limits their access to healthcare. Trump’s rule shows complete disregard for the trans community and trans people of color, who also face an enormous threat of violence and hate.
NOW encourages all activists to come together and help dismantle the barriers keeping people from getting the health care they need, both culturally and legislatively. With the Supreme Court decision yesterday, we will work to get this rule reversed through lawsuits and the passing of the Equality Act in the Senate. We must also elect officials who pledge support to the transgender community and who seek to make our nation a safe place for all people. Together, we can ensure that marginalized communities have equal access to a health care system that does not discriminate.
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NOW Foundation is an amici on this case and for many years has been asserting that Title VII covers LGBTQIA+ persons. Here is a link to the actual Syllabus: https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/17-1618_hfci.pdf