Texas Court Prohibits Implementation of ACA Protections for the Transgender Community and Women Seeking Abortions

On December 31, 2016, Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered an injunction to apply nationwide in Franciscan Alliance v. Burwell, Case No. No. 7:16-cv-00108-O. The order prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing the portions of the nondiscrimination rule under ACA Sec. 1557 that prohibit discrimination on the basis of “gender identity” or “termination of pregnancy.” The court left untouched the portions of the rule that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, race, color, age, national origin, or sex other than gender identity. The decision can be found here: http://courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Texas-rule.pdf. On January 9, 2017, the ACLU filed a request for a formal ruling on their intervention in the case, which was apparently ignored by the Court earlier in the litigation, and a request for a stay pending the appeal they would file if intervention is granted. We will keep watch on any appeal of this decision.