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Biden reinstates transgender health protection reversing Trump policy: 'Reverse everything that former guy did'

'Now it’s time to pass the Equality Act so LGBTQ+ people’s health — and lives — can’t be used as a political football any longer,' said a Democrat Rep

President Joe Biden brought forth another victory for the transgender community in the US as the Biden administration announced the restoration of transgender healthcare protection on Monday, May 10, 2021. The new guidelines will thereby reverse the Trump-era policy which had narrowed down the legal rights for transgender people in medical care, reported AP News. 

While announcing the new policy, the Department of Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra stated, "Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences. Everyone — including LGBTQ people — should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period.” Social media users have rejoiced in the new ruling which marks another milestone in the fight for trans rights in the US. 

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How will the new policy aid the transgender community? 

The new policy enacted by Joe Biden will help the transgender people in a wide spectrum - from military service, housing, employment to the general society. Earlier, the Trump administration had curtailed transgender rights by limiting the definition of 'sex' as the gender assigned at birth or biological gender. This automatically excluded transgender people from availing of healthcare protection. The Trump-era policy was blocked from taking effect by a federal judge, according to AP News. 

The new policy declared on Monday will also facilitate investigation into complaints of sex discrimination at hospitals, clinics, or other medical providers, who can even face government sanctions for violation. The new policy is in line with the Obama-era policy in the Affordable Care Act, which prohibited sex discrimination in the health care domain.

Prior to this, Biden had enacted an executive order to combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. His administration also reversed another Trump-era policy that prevented transgender people from serving in the military. Another conservative Trump policy which allowed taxpayer-funded homeless shelters to deny entry to transgender individuals was also withdrawn by the Department of Housing and Urban development.  

As per the statistics by Williams Institute, more than 1.5 million US citizens identify as transgender at present. 

'So much good came out of this election'

Twitter users are all praises for Biden reversing Trump's exclusionary policy about transgender people. 

"So much good came out of this election. We cannot our guard down. Rest, and get ready to fight on!" tweeted activist Amy Siskind. 

Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal tweeted, "This is an important step. Now it’s time to pass the Equality Act so LGBTQ+ people’s health — and lives — can’t be used as a political football any longer."

"Reversing Trump is the greatest legacy the @POTUS
administration will have and it’s huge and wonderful and needed. Reverse everything that former guy did, except losing the election. Which he did. Badly," a Twitter user wrote.

Meanwhile, podcast host Dean Obeidallah demanded, "Forget Reversing Trump, I want to see Arresting Trump trending!!"