Judge Blocks Trump Rule on Faith-Based LGBTQ Health Care Refusal

A federal judge slapped a hold on a Trump administration rule that allows health-care providers to refuse services to LGBTQ people on religious grounds.

In a preliminary injunction issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington said the administration failed to consider how the rule would affect access to care, given “substantial evidence” that it would cause LGBTQ patients “to fear discrimination at the hands of religiously affiliated providers.”

The rule is part of revised regulations for the Obama-era Affordable Care Act that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services promulgated last year. Last month, a federal judge in New York blocked the elimination of discrimination protections “on the basis of sex” for transgender people.

The health department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read More: Trump Sued Over Rule Allowing Health-Care Religious Refusals

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Peter Blumberg

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