News
White House invokes ‘religious freedom’ to justify Trump’s actions
Comments on contraception mandate could apply to ‘religious freedom’ guidance
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended on Friday the end to the contraception mandate under Obamacare by asserting President Trump believes in “freedom of religion” ā an often-used phrase to justify anti-LGBT discrimination that could apply other Trump administration actions.
Asked by the Fox Business Network about the American Civil Liberties Union’s threat to file a lawsuit in response to the reversal of the contraception mandate, Sanders argued the administration’s action was in line with President Trump’s belief in religious freedom.
“I don’t think it’s been a secret that I would probably never use the ACLU to get any of my talking points,” Sanders said. “The president believes the freedom to practice one’s faith is a fundamental right in this country, and I think all of us do, and that’s all that today was about. Our federal government should always protect that right, and as long as Donald Trump is president, he will.”
Although the comments were made in response to the end of the contraception mandate, they could also be construed as a defense to the “religious freedom” guidance U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued on the same day, which critics say could lead to anti-LGBT discrimination.
Pressed on what she’d say to women who fear losing their contraception coverage as result of the Trump administration’s actions, Sanders returned to religious liberty.
“This is a president who supports the First Amendment, supports the freedom of religion,” Sanders said. “I don’t think I understand why that should be an issue. The Supreme Court has validated this decision certainly many times over. And the president is somebody who believes in the Constitution. If people don’t like what the Constitution says, they should talk to Congress about changing it.”
The reference to the U.S. Supreme Court was likely a reference to its 2015 decision in the Hobby Lobby case, although that was decided on a statutory basis under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, not the U.S. Constitution.
When NBC News asked if the Trump administration is prepared to fight all the way back to the Supreme Court, Sanders said justices have “already made clear what their position is, and it supports what this administration has done.”
Sanders predicted victory when asked if she’s confident the issue wouldn’t return to the Supreme Court.
“I think if it does, it will show that this administration is on the right side of the law,” Sanders said.
Ian Thompson, legislative director for the ACLU, said using “religious freedom” to justify the actions of the Trump administration is totally off base.
“Contrary to the Justice Department guidance, religious freedom does not allow anyone to impose their beliefs onto others, or to discriminate or harm,” Thompson said. “The administrationās disgraceful actions today advance discrimination, not religious freedom.”
Federal Government
HHS reverses Trump-era anti-LGBTQ rule
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act now protects LGBTQ people
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has issued a final rule on Friday under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act advancing protections against discrimination in health care prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), in covered health programs or activities.
The updated rule does not force medical professionals to provide certain types of health care, but rather ensures nondiscrimination protections so that providers cannot turn away patients based on individual characteristics such as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, or pregnant.
āThis rule ensures that people nationwide can access health care free from discrimination,ā said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. āStanding with communities in need is critical, particularly given increased attacks on women, trans youth, and health care providers. Health care should be a right not dependent on looks, location, love, language, or the type of care someone needs.ā
The new rule restores and clarifies important regulatory protections for LGBTQ people and other vulnerable populations under Section 1557, also known as the health care nondiscrimination law, that were previously rescinded by the Trump administration.
āHealthcare is a fundamental human right. The rule released today restores critical regulatory nondiscrimination protections for those who need them most and ensures a legally proper reading of the Affordable Care Actās healthcare nondiscrimination law,ā said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, counsel and health care strategist for Lambda Legal.
āThe Biden administration today reversed the harmful, discriminatory, and unlawful effort by the previous administration to eliminate critical regulatory protections for LGBTQ+ people and other vulnerable populations, such as people with limited English proficiency, by carving them out from the rule and limiting the scope of entities to which the rule applied,ā Gonzalez-Pagan added. āThe rule released today has reinstated many of these important protections, as well as clarifying the broad, intended scope of the rule to cover all health programs and activities and health insurers receiving federal funds. While we evaluate the new rule in detail, it is important to highlight that this rule will help members of the LGBTQ+ community ā especially transgender people, non-English speakers, immigrants, people of color, and people living with disabilities ā to access the care they need and deserve, saving lives and making sure healthcare professionals serve patients with essential care no matter who they are.ā
In addition to rescinding critical regulatory protections for LGBTQ people, the Trump administrationās rule also limited the remedies available to people who face health disparities, limited access to health care for people with Limited English Proficiency, and dramatically reduced the number of healthcare entities and health plans subject to the rule.
Lambda Legal, along with a broad coalition of LGBTQ advocacy groups, filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration rule,Ā Whitman-Walker Clinic v. HHS, and secured a preliminary injunction preventing key aspects of the Trump rule from taking effect.
These included the elimination of regulatory protections for LGBTQ people and the unlawful expansion of religious exemptions, which the new rule corrects. The preliminary injunction in Whitman-Walker Clinic v. HHS remains in place. Any next steps in the case will be determined at a later time, after a fulsome review of the new rule.
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis released the following statement in response to the news:
āThe Biden administrationās updates to rules regarding Section 1557 of the ACA will ensure that no one who is LGBTQI or pregnant can face discrimination in accessing essential health care. This reversal of Trump-era discriminatory rules that sought to single out Americans based on who they are and make it difficult or impossible for them to access necessary medical care will have a direct, positive impact on the day to day lives of millions of people. Todayās move marks the 334th action from the Biden-Harris White House in support of LGBTQ people. Health care is a human right that should be accessible to all Americans equally without unfair and discriminatory restrictions. LGBTQ Americans are grateful for this step forward to combat discrimination in health care so no one is barred from lifesaving treatment.ā
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday signed a bill that seeks to combat efforts to ban books from state libraries.
House Bill 785, also known as the Freedom to Read Act, would establish a state policy āthat local school systems operate their school library media programs consistent with certain standards; requiring each local school system to develop a policy and procedures to review objections to materials in a school library media program; prohibiting a county board of education from dismissing, demoting, suspending, disciplining, reassigning, transferring, or otherwise retaliating against certain school library media program personnel for performing their job duties consistent with certain standards.ā
Moore on Thursday also signed House Bill 1386, which GLSEN notes will ādevelop guidelines for an anti-bias training program for school employees.ā
The Mexican Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy in the country.
Yaaj MĆ©xico, a Mexican LGBTQ rights group, on X noted the measure passed by a 77-4 vote margin with 15 abstentions. The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Mexico’s congress, approved the bill last month that, among other things, would subject conversion therapy practitioners to between two and six years in prison and fines.
The Senate on its X account described conversion therapy as “practices that have incentivized the violation of human rights of the LGBTTTIQ+ community.”
“The Senate moved (to) sanction therapies that impede or annul a person’s orientation or gender identity,” it said. “There are aggravating factors when the practices are done to minors, older adults and people with disabilities.”
Mexico City and the states of Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Jalisco and Sonora are among the Mexican jurisdictions that have banned the discredited practice.Ā
The Senate in 2022 passed a conversion therapy ban bill, but the House of Deputies did not approve it. It is not immediately clear whether President AndrĆ©s Manuel LĆ³pez Obrador supports the ban.
Canada, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, France, and New Zealand are among the countries that ban conversion therapy. Virginia, California, and D.C. are among the U.S. jurisdictions that prohibit the practice for minors.Ā Ā
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