A US judge on Wednesday blocked the Biden administration from implementing a new rule against gender identity discrimination in health care.
U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola in Gulfport, Mississippi, sided with 15 Republican-led states that sued to challenge the rule, arguing the administration overreached.
The the rule was finalized in May and was set to go into effect on Friday. It states that the federal ban on sex discrimination, which is part of the Affordable Care Act health insurance law, covers discrimination against transgender people.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which issued the rule, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The rule comes after Democratic President Joe Biden’s executive order of 2022 directed federal agencies such as HHS to take steps to ensure transgender people have access to health care.