In The News ----
A federal district court Monday temporarily blocked the enforcement of two Biden administration mandates forcing both nonprofit and for-profit religious employers and health care providers to PAY FOR and PERFORM transgender medical procedures and counseling even if these measures violate the employers' or providers' religious beliefs.
District Judge Daniel M. Traynor of the U.S. District Court of North Dakota ruled that the Christian Employers Alliance "has shown a likelihood of success on the merits" in its case.
"No government agency ought to be in the business of evaluating the sincerity of another’s religious beliefs," Traynor wrote.
"HHS Guidance encourages a parent to file a complaint if a medical provider refuses to gender transition their child, of any age, including an infant," the judge noted. "The thought that a newborn child could be surgically altered to change gender is the result of the Biden HHS Notification and HHS Guidance that brands a medical professional’s refusal to do so as discrimination. Indeed, the HHS Guidance specifically invites the public to file complaints for acting in a manner the Alliance says is consistent with their sincerely held religious beliefs."
"Beyond the religious implications, the Biden HHS Notification and resulting HHS Guidance frustrate the proper care of gender dysphoria, where even among adults who experience the condition, a diagnosis occurs following the considered involvement of medical professionals," the judge added. "By branding the consideration as ‘discrimination,’ the HHS prohibits the medical profession from evaluating what is best for the patient in what is certainly a complex mental health question."
The Christian Employers Alliance, represented by the Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, claims that the Biden administration violated its free exercise rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, and its free speech rights.
The alliance claimed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the HHS Office of Civil Rights and its agents misinterpreted Section 1157 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) – also known as ObamaCare – when sending guidance interpreting denial of transgender medical procedures and counseling as discrimination on the basis of sex.
Neither the EEOC nor HHS responded to Fox News' requests for comment.
The mandates would force religious employers and health care providers to pay for and perform surgeries, procedures, counseling and treatments that seek to alter a patient's biological sex, even if such actions violate the employers' or providers' convictions.
"The administration’s mandates are crippling for the countless Christian-owned and operated businesses seeking to care well for their employees without the fear of punishing fines, burdensome litigation costs, the loss of federal funds, and even criminal penalties," Christian Employers Alliance President Shannon Royce said in a statement on the ruling.
"As stewards of the health and safety of our valued employees, it is unconscionable and unconstitutional to be mandated to provide, pay for, or promote services and procedures that directly contradict our deeply held religious beliefs," Royce added. "We are pleased that we can continue to act consistent with those beliefs while our lawsuit proceeds and look forward to ultimately prevailing with our case."
"All employers and health care providers, including those in the Christian Employers Alliance, have the constitutional right to conduct their business and render treatment in a manner consistent with their deeply held religious beliefs," ADF Legal Counsel Jacob Reed, who argued before the court on behalf of CEA, said in a statement Monday.
"The employers we represent believe that God purposefully created humans as either male or female, and so it would violate their religious beliefs to pay for or perform life-altering medical procedures or surgeries that seek to change one’s biological sex," Reed added. "The court was on firm ground to halt enforcement of these unlawful mandates that disrespect people of faith." https://newsworldupdate.com/politics/bi … es-appeal/
FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Advances Equality and Visibility for Transgender Americans
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo … americans/
So, thoughts
It’s not so much my thoughts, but more of a case of trying to understand the situation in the USA in simple terms e.g. medical procedures and counselling for transgender is all provided as a ‘free’ service on the NHS (National Health Service) in the UK; so the issues you seem to be referring to just don’t exist in Britain, therefore the concepts in this forum are alien to me!
In the US we frown on government agencies in the business of evaluating the sincerity of another’s religious beliefs. The transgender choice although a right does not eliminate the rights The president mandates seeks to force religious employers and health care providers to pay for and perform surgeries and procedures, counseling and treatments that seek to alter a patient's biological sex, even if such actions violate the employers' or providers' religious convictions.
Transgenders have all the rights of any US citizen, However, their rights do not subvert the rights of another religious right or beliefs.
The president clearly does not have the right to force anyone to do something that goes against their own beliefs.
I guess one can chalk it up to different counties Governments can have very different ways of Governing. The UK chooses to do things very differently than we do here in the States. We choose to respect our Constitution as it was written as much as possible.
Our Constitution is relatively simple. The text of the Tenth Amendment of our Constitution reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” It was originally drafted to quell fears that the federal government, through Congress, would grow beyond its delegated powers and interfere with the governing powers of the states and the natural rights of the people.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion.
In a nutshell, many that live in the US do not appreciate government overreach.
That’s where I’m getting confused; because I thought that in the USA medical care was covered by medical insurance, so I don’t see what that has to do with employers or religion. Surly, if you need or want medical treatment then that’s between you and your medical insurance company and has mothering to do with your employer or their religion?
I’m obviously missing a point here, because in the UK if you wanted counselling and ultimately surgery for transgender treatment then that’s between just you and your doctor (and nobody else) e.g. there is NO medical insurance in the UK because the NHS is a government body that provides the service to every UK citizen for free.
So in the UK it doesn’t matter what your medical condition is, or who you are, or how wealthy or poor you are; everyone in the UK is entitled to equal medical treatment; and if you need medical help regardless to how trivial or serious it is you can just see your doctor, seek advice from their online help service or nip into your nearest hospital with an A&E (Accident & Emergency). Although too many people use A&E for trivial matters because it a free and convenient service open 24 hours/7 days a week, whereas you can only see your doctor during daytime unless it’s an emergency.
Inside our A&E: What to expect as a patient https://youtu.be/I48J0rjLjZE
24 Hours in A&E - You can't buy love https://youtu.be/13wazuC14j0
One point of British Law that might shock you is that since 1985, under the ‘Gillick competence’ 'Ruling' a child of any age e.g. under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment (without their parents’ consent because of the rule of ‘patient/doctor’ confidentiality) if that child is believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what's involved in their treatment. Obviously it’s not a floodgate to children getting treatment done behind their parents backs, but it does allow 13 year olds for example to get the ‘pill’ free of charge on the NHS without the embarrassment of asking their parents!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillick_competence
In the US a private insurance company decides what they will cover, and how much they will cover. A physician has the right to what type of surgeries they will perform.
Our healthcare systems are very different. A person that has no insurance and is in need of healthcare can apply for Medicaid, and receive free health for illnesses such as cancer or needed surgury. . Transgender surgery would not be considered an emergency.
In regard to our major insurance companies -- I checked my insurance company Blue Cross Blue Sheild. Gender Affirmation Surgery and hormone therapy are non-covered benefits when the member does not have benefits for the services requested contained in their health benefit plan.
Wow, that sounds quite restrictive, and must be stressful for those who don’t have full cover and or can’t afford treatment when needed! In the UK everyone is covered by the NHS, which is a government body (universal healthcare), so the concept that your level of healthcare is in the hands of your employer seems such a strange concept to me.
In the UK virtually everything is covered on the NHS for free, including transgender surgery and erectile dysfunction treatment. If you want to stop smoking, eat healthier, lose weight, get fit etc., the NHS encourage you to contact them so that they can give you free help and advice on giving up smoking, healthy nutritional eating, leading a healthier life style with healthy eating and exercise, and for losing weight etc.
In fact it’s hard to imagine what isn’t covered for free by the NHS, but one thing that does spring to mind is vanity surgery (plastic surgery) isn’t covered by the NHS; unless you can convince your doctor that it’s necessary for psychological reasons. For example if in Britain you went to your doctor asking them to alter your nose because you thought it would make you look more attractive, or asking your doctor for breast enlargements because it would make you more attractive, then the NHS would refuse treatment. However, if you went to your doctor asking for your nose to be altered and convinced your doctor that its current size caused your deep anxiety and depression, or you asked your doctor for breast enlargements and convinced your doctor that in your own mind they were too small and that was causing serious anxiety and depression etc., then it’s likely your doctor would recommend free surgery on the NHS, but the ultimate decision would be the Consultant in the hospital. The key point here is that the NHS don’t just treat physical conditions, they also treat the psychological aspects.
A few NHS Advert Campaigns below:-
• Better Health - Let's do this - NHS https://youtu.be/YozNOqbd26Q
• Your guide to the Eatwell Guide! – NHS https://youtu.be/8aWqZd9RScQ
• Help! - Talking Therapies - NHS https://youtu.be/Qa4I3mr9jX4
In fact in the UK the problem is the opposite to the USA e.g. rather than worrying whether you’re covered on you medical insurance for this or that treatment; because the NHS is free, and covers just about everything, it’s common for people to go to their local hospital’s A&E (Accident & Emergency) with just trivial complaints, such as a common cold. The NHS will NEVER turn anyone away who turns up in A&E, but doctors and nurses spending valuable time with people on trivial matters does make A&E’s far busier than they would be if people used them sensibly.
So in response to too many people turning up in A&E with trivial matters the NHS issued this (and other) public awareness adverts a few years ago:
Choose Well - Dee's A&E Fail Tale – NHS https://youtu.be/ffT1orYXdcI
Although the above short video is a humorous cartoon, the examples given in it are taken from genuine cases; as credited at the end.
Does your NHS cover elective, cosmetic surgeries? Something like breast enlargement or (as in one case I read of) a woman who had her legs broken and then, through the use of traction devices, healed them longer than they were (she actually had the procedure done several times to get the desired length)?
People everywhere don't like their appearance and wish to be what they are not; does your NHS cover such things when they are not medically necessary?
If the cosmetic surgery is just pure vanity then ‘No’; but if you can convince your doctor and then the hospital’s Consultant that your looks are adversely affecting your mental health and wellbeing e.g. the psychological effect causing social anxiety, stress and depression etc., then ‘Yes’ the NHS are more likely to give you the cosmetic surgery free of charge.
The wording on the NHS website is “You cannot usually get breast enlargement on the NHS” but “There are some circumstances where you might be able to get breast enlargement on the NHS – for example, if you have very uneven breasts” etc.
And where you say “does your NHS cover such things when they are not medically necessary?” the NHS scope includes mental as well as physical health and the psychological aspects of your condition (mental or physical), and includes ‘wellbeing’ e.g. healthy eating and exercise, weight loss, giving up smoking, holistic approach to medicine and healthcare, and the NHS focuses on ‘Preventative Healthcare’ – so it is very broad reaching.
NHS - What is a Health and Wellbeing Coach? https://youtu.be/RV0ZfJdsHIk
The NHS Long Term Plan and the NHS workforce in preventative healthcare https://youtu.be/NCtedekBCyI
Quoting from the NHS website: -
“Cosmetic surgery is not routinely provided on the NHS” but “It may occasionally be provided on the NHS for psychological or other health reasons.”
Yep, they are.
(It was your turn bud, I haven't poked at any of our international folks lately and I don't want to be unfair. ;-)
GA
Notes: The first reference link to newsworldupdate source has been suspended. I presume you quoted the info from it in your OP.
The White House stuff I skimmed while was overwhelmed by it all. So, that is a clue to my thoughts about it at this moment.
_______
Shooting from the hip I watched TMZ Live this morning seeing where one transgender celeb, Ezra MIller, is going to sue a police department for not using the correct pronoun when he was being arrested as a hate crime. That to me shows how far off the beaten path of normalcy things have become. Watching the interaction with police officer to me it is rubbish. I found the link to TMZ's site about it.
https://www.tmz.com/2022/05/16/ezra-mil … ii-arrest/
I can acknowledge there is a need for protecting the legitimate rights of transgenders or LGBTQ for that matter, however I am not in agreement that dictating to a private business who they have to do business with or in this case render the services is the governments business. Living in sunny southern California and its beautiful coast I am well acquainted with signs saying no shoes, no shirt, no service. Where is the outrage? And, of course the joke one continuing saying Women no shirt, Free drinks.
Otherwise I am going to fall back on my hypothesis we are on the cusp of catastrophe regard competing ideologies and the ideologies within, e.g. religion.
Thank you for the heads up on the link. The article was one that originated on Fox, which many media sources posted.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden- … ian-appeal
The source I posted was removed.
The article was one that originated on Fox, which many media sources posted. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden- … ian-appeal
"for-profit religious employers and health care providers to PAY FOR and PERFORM transgender medical procedures and counseling even if these measures violate the employers' or providers' religious beliefs."
This is a victory for religious freedom. It enables Christians (Muslims have a very harsh attitude toward transgender) and those of other religions the ability to do their job and follow their faith.
There will still be those who perform such procedures, it is no longer something that is not forced by the government on those who have to go against their belief system to perform it.
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