By David T. Valentin
Despite Trump claiming to be the president for LGBTQ+ people when he paraded around a flag that read “LGBT for Trump” at one of his rallies, he has continued to roll back Obama-era level protections even with only a few days left of his presidency.
In a regulatory change by the HHS (The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), the terminology of the HHS regulations have been purposely left vague in order to allow people to deny LGBTQ+ peoples healthcare services in the name of “religious freedom.”
Prior to the change, the rules read, “treat as valid the marriages of same-sex couples.” As noted by NPR, “that protections regarding ‘sex’ encompass those based on gender identity, which it defined as “male, female, neither, or a combination of male and female.”
Now the regulations read: “It is a public policy requirement of HHS that no person otherwise eligible will be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in the administration of HHS programs and services, to the extent doing so is prohibited by federal statue.”
You can read the full article here: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/12/868073068/transgender-health-protections-reversed-by-trump-administration