US Department of Health and Human Services: "Gender is determined at birth"... Transgender rights revoked

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] The U.S. Donald Trump administration has finalized the withdrawal of a bill that guarantees the rights of transgender individuals in the healthcare sector.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced on the 12th (local time) in a press release that "in the enforcement of Section 1557, the government will revert to interpreting sex discrimination based solely on ordinary genders determined at birth, such as male or female."

Section 1557 is an anti-discrimination provision included in the previous Barack Obama administration's health insurance reform plan, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It prohibits discrimination based on race, color, origin, sex, age, disability, and other factors in health programs or activities funded by the government.

The Obama administration included "gender identity" in the concept of "sex," mandating that healthcare providers and insurers offer medically appropriate treatment to transgender patients and support related medical expenses, according to The New York Times (NYT).

However, with the Trump administration stating that it will recognize only biological sex rather than gender identity going forward, access to medical care for transgender individuals is expected to be significantly restricted.

Following DHHS's announcement, related organizations immediately protested. Rodrigo Hengelainen, Deputy Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), criticized, "This opens the door for healthcare providers to refuse even those transgender individuals who come for COVID-19 testing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.