BREAKING: CHCLA Met with HHS Officials Today to Oppose Dangers of Anticipated Gender Identity Rule that Threatens Health Care Conscience
For Immediate Release
April 8, 2022
For More Information Contact:
media@catholichealthalliance.org
Ormond Beach, FL– Today, the Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance (CHCLA) met with government officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to oppose the anticipated gender identity rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
An earlier HHS announcement and court documents reveal that HHS intends to propose the new Section 1557 rule by April 2022, which would redefine sex discrimination in health programs and activities funded by HHS to include sexual orientation and gender identity. This change would require that hospitals, doctors, clinics, and other health care professionals, would have to provide harmful medical interventions and to perform mutilating transgender surgeries on both adults and children against their best ethical and medical judgments and for insurance companies to pay for such surgeries, or be considered discriminatory for refusal to do so under its new definition of sex discrimination.
Dr. Steven White, President of CHCLA participated at this meeting with HHS and released the following statement:
“CHCLA represents the interests of Catholic doctors and other Catholic health care professionals, hospital systems, health care clinics, and other entities that practice health care according to the Ethical and Religious Directives. We swore an oath to practice medicine based on the Hippocratic principle of ‘Do No Harm.’ As faith-based individuals and health care institutions, we have a right to practice medicine according to Catholic ethics and our conscience, and not be forced to participate in harmful and dangerous procedures on our patients. We went into medicine to heal, not to harm our patients.”
CHCLA signed onto a letter that was sent to HHS on March 11 requesting that HHS meet with diverse coalitions to share their concerns about the anticipated gender identity rule.
If you would like to set up an interview with Dr. Steven White of CHCLA, please contact media@catholichealthalliance.org.
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About the Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance
The Catholic Health Care Leadership Alliance is an alliance of faithful Catholic organizations that supports the rights of patients and professionals to receive and provide health care in accordance with the moral, ethical, and social teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church through ongoing evangelization, education, advocacy, and mutual support. For more information, please visit www.catholichealthalliance.org.
