Catholic News Agency reports that last week the attorneys general of Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah along with the American College of Pediatricians are suing the Biden administration over threats to withhold federal funding from healthcare providers that refuse to perform or cover “transgender” procedures. The plaintiffs contend the rule violates physicians’ rights, overrides state authority, and is rulemaking without statutory authority.
At a minimum, doctors should never be forced to violate their medical judgment. They take an oath to do no harm, and if a doctor knows that a treatment or a surgery will actually harm a patient, then he or she should have the freedom to refuse to administer the treatment or perform the surgery. These elective treatments and surgeries are not legitimate health care.
