A federal court has blocked a rule from the Biden administration that would have required doctors to perform gender-transition procedures and state Medicaid programs to cover the costs. The decision was announced by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who described the outcome as a significant legal victory for the state and others that joined the lawsuit.
“This is a big win for common sense and for constitutional limits on federal overreach,” said Attorney General Wilson. “This is another example of how South Carolina and other states fought back when Biden bureaucrats tried to illegally rewrite our laws to force radical gender ideology onto everyone.”
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services exceeded its authority when it issued a regulation in May 2024. The rule had expanded the definition of discrimination “on the basis of sex” under Title IX, as applied through Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, to include gender identity. The court found that Congress, when passing Title IX in 1972, intended “sex” to mean biological sex. The judge stated that federal agencies do not have the power to change the meaning of laws years after they are enacted.
If allowed to take effect, the rule would have prevented health care facilities from maintaining sex-segregated spaces, required providers to offer procedures for gender dysphoria, and compelled states to pay for these treatments through Medicaid.
The legal challenge was led by Tennessee and Mississippi, with South Carolina and 13 other states participating in the lawsuit.
The decision is available for review online.
