U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee based in Amarillo, ruled that doctors may discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Bostock ruling that prohibits employment discrimination does not extend to a doctor’s care. The judge wrote that Congress could have included sexual orientation and gender identity in Title IX but didn’t.
In Neece vs. Bacerra, Dr. Susan Neese refused to prescribe hormone therapy to a transgender patient. The judge notes that the Affordable Care Act prevents discrimination based on sex.
He ruled that the plaintiffs weren’t discriminating since they are refusing hormone treatments to all patients, regardless of sex.