A judge ruled that doctors can refuse care to trans patient and women who had abortions

U.S. Marion Schneider
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This Saturday, the United States district court judge ruled that doctors have the option of refusing care to women with abortion in their past and transgender people due to religious freedom.

Judge Reed O’Connor stated that laws that make illegal gender-based discrimination forces doctors “to remove the categorical exclusion of transitions and abortions (a condition they assert is a reflection of their religious beliefs and an exercise of their religion) and conduct an individualized assessment of every request for those procedures.” That means doctors will have to motivate on an individual basis their denial of care for a particular patient.

This will, according to O’Connor, “impose a burden” on the physician’s ability to practice their religion.

He quoted Burwell v. Hobby Lobby 2014 verdict, which permits family-owned corporations to deny insurance for birth control under the Affordable Care Act if it goes against religious beliefs.

The New York Times at that time said that this 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court will “open the door to many challenges from corporations over laws that they claim violate their religious liberty.”

The judge also states that even though his ruling allows doctors to turn away trans patients or women who have had abortions they will not be left without health care or coverage as the federal government doesn’t seem to be concerned about specifics people access to insurance.

“The government’s own health insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid, do not mandate coverage for transition surgeries; the military’s health insurance program, TRICARE, specifically excludes coverage for transition surgeries,” O’Connor wrote in his verdict.