Features

/ /

AP: Supreme Court Likely To Uphold PrEP Coverage

The Associated Press reports: The Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold a key preventive-care provision of the Affordable Care Act in a case heard Monday. Conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, along with the court’s three liberals, appeared skeptical of arguments that Obamacare’s process for deciding which services must be fully covered by private insurance is unconstitutional. The case came before the Supreme Court after the appeals court struck down some preventive care coverage requirements. It sided with Christian employers and Texas residents who argued they can’t be forced to provide full insurance coverage for things like medication to […]

/ /

Wisconsin’s Name-Change Law Raises Safety Risks for Transgender People

In 2022, after living as a boy and going by a new name for several years, a 15-year-old from Madison, Wisconsin, wanted to make it official. Like most teenagers, he dreamed of getting his driver’s license, and his family wanted his government identification to reflect who he really was. But Wisconsin law has a caveat: He would have to publish his old, feminine name and new name in the local newspaper for three weeks — essentially announcing to the world that he is transgender. In many instances, if he had committed a crime, the law would afford him privacy as […]

/ /

Doctors warn of ‘terrifying’ effects as Trump creates snitch line to report gender-affirming care patients

,

The Trump administration has cleared the way for people to report doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors — and now says they can do so without violating federal medical privacy laws. In new guidance issued Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that health care workers, clinic staff, and even third parties may file complaints against providers offering gender-affirming care and, in many cases, even disclose protected patient information under HIPAA’s whistleblower provisions. Under HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, medical professionals must keep a patient’s health information confidential. The guidance, issued under President Donald Trump’s January 28 executive order titled “Protecting Children […]

/ /

Planned Parenthood resumes gender-affirming care after patient backlash

,

Planned Parenthood’s Arizona branch will resume providing gender-affirming healthcare to transgender patients. The chapter had previously paused the treatments in response to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sending out a memo warning federally funded healthcare institutions against providing gender-affirming care. The Arizona branch faced public pressure after news publications began reporting on its decision to end trans-related healthcare. Patients receiving gender treatment at the branch told news outlets they had received voicemails late on Friday, April 11, informing them that their upcoming appointments were being cancelled. One of these patients, a 23-year-old trans woman from Mesa, Arizona, […]

/ /

A look at recent global actions limiting legal recognitions for transgender people

A ruling Wednesday from the top court in the United Kingdom that says the legal definition of a woman is someone whose birth sex is female is the latest high-profile action globally involving the issue of what legal recognitions transgender people are allowed. The spectrum of protections around the world ranges widely, from none at all in a number of countries to the existence of anti-discrimination protections and legal gender identity changes in some others. Here’s a look at actions in some countries recently: United Kingdom The decision from U.K. Supreme Court revolved around the U.K. Equality Act, which bars […]

/ /

LGBTQ people find confidence and community in self-defense classes

Self-defense classes geared toward LGBTQ people can be found sprinkled across the United States, and instructors and students say the skills these classes provide are giving attendees a boost of confidence and a sense of community in a fraught political environment. “Pretend someone’s coming for you. How would you kick them if you were fighting for your life?” an instructor at Queer Fight Club in St. Louis asked attendees during a recent self-defense class. Tori Lohmann, who is nonbinary, was among the nine students in the class. Lohmann said they never imagined joining a self-defense group but found themselves drawn to Queer […]

/ /

What to know about the Supreme Court case that could take away your access to PrEP and other care

,

Last Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, a case which The Advocatefirst broke news of in 2022, that could dismantle one of the most widely used and life-saving provisions of the Affordable Care Act: the guarantee that insurers must cover preventive services—like HIV prevention medication, cancer screenings, and maternal health care—at no cost to patients. While the case began as a religious objection to PrEP coverage by a group of conservative Christian business owners in Texas, it’s evolved into a full-blown challenge to the ACA’s preventive care mandate. A ruling against the government could jeopardize no-cost access to cancer screenings, STI testing, contraception, diabetes care, […]

/ /

Federal government to remove gender dysphoria from protected disabilities list

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will remove gender dysphoria from disabilities protected under federal law, but it’s still unclear whether 17 Republican state attorneys general will continue a related lawsuit that could dismantle federal protections for all people with disabilities. Last fall, Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the federal government over the Biden administration’s addition of a gender identity-related disorder to the disabilities protected under a portion of federal law known as Section 504. Republican attorneys general from 16 other states joined the lawsuit: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, […]

/ /

Pride organization rejects sponsorships from companies slashing DEI & turns to community for help

,

Cincinnati Pride announced that it will no longer accept corporate sponsors who have retreated from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and will move to a community-funding model. Pride event organizers state that companies fear being targeted by the White House after the president signed an executive order entitled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” which aimed to end DEI programs in government offices.  Though only applying to federal agencies, this move has put political pressure on corporations as well, resulting in many of them slashing their DEI programs. Last month, for example, Anheuser-Busch declined to sponsor […]

/ /

Bells Larsen forced to cancel US tour dates due to trans visa rules

,

Trans Canadian singer Bells Larsen has been forced to cancel his US tour over the administration’s anti-trans visa rules.  Larsen cancelled his tour following the Trump administration signing legislationthat required IDs, including passports and visas, to show a person’s sex as “either male or female”. The requirement has already been implemented by US citizenship and Immigration Services.  Taking to Instagram, Larsen confirmed that his tour will be cancelled following the American Federation of Musicians stating that he can no longer apply for a visa that aligns with his gender.  The post added: “To put it super plainly, because I’m trans (and […]

«‹ 38 39 40 41›»