Texas federal judge halts federal transgender health protections
The Associated Press Reports
A federal judge in Texas on Saturday ordered a halt to another Obama administration effort to strengthen transgender rights, this time over health rules that social conservatives say could force doctors to violate their religious beliefs.
The latest injunction signed by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor comes four months after he blocked a higher-profile new set of transgender protections - a federal directive that required public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
Several of the Republican-controlled states that brought that lawsuit, including Texas, also sued over the health regulations that were finalized in May.
Reuters News service says:
The decision sides with Texas, seven other states and three Christian-affiliated healthcare groups challenging a rule that, according to the judge, defines sex bias to include "discrimination on the basis of gender identity and termination of pregnancy."
Hat tip to Free Republic!
AP source here