The government of Joe Biden attacked this Monday discrimination against homosexual and transgender patients in the health sector, taking the opposite view of his predecessor Donald Trump.
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"
The fear of discrimination can lead some people to deprive themselves of care, which can have serious consequences for their health
", underlined the American Minister of Health Xavier Becerra in a press release. "
It is the position of the Ministry of Health that everyone, including LGBTQ people, must have access to care, without risk of discrimination or interference,
" he added.
This decision comes as several Republican states have launched an offensive deemed hostile to transgender young people, by prohibiting them in particular, as in Arkansas, from all hormonal treatment.
The federal government's measure does not relate specifically to this point, but to a system for combating discrimination in health structures managed or financed by the federal State.
"To improve the health and well-being of all Americans"
Created by President Barack Obama's emblematic 2010 health law, it notably prohibits discrimination "
based on sex
".
However, for Republicans, this term covers only the differences between men and women, not questions of identity or sexual orientation.
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As a result, the government of Donald Trump published a circular in 2019 to explicitly exclude homosexuals and transgender people from this device.
Defenders of these minorities had feared that this would pave the way for refusals of care or insurance, especially for the transition of transgender patients.
On Monday, Joe Biden's government rescinded the circular on the basis of a United States Supreme Court ruling which, a year ago, banned discrimination against sexual minorities in the workplace. "
Our department's mission is to improve the health and well-being of all Americans, regardless of their sexual identity or orientation,
" said Assistant Minister of Health Rachel Levine, the first transgender person to join. a government in the United States.