A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi has invalidated a policy introduced under the Biden administration that sought to expand anti-discrimination protections to include gender identity in healthcare. The ruling, delivered by Judge Louis Guirola Jr., determined that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) overstepped its authority by redefining sex discrimination under Title IX to encompass gender identity.
The legal challenge was initiated by a coalition of 15 Republican-led states, including Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and others. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R), who spearheaded the effort, hailed the decision as a victory against federal overreach, stating, “When Biden-era bureaucrats tried to illegally rewrite our laws to force radical gender ideology into every corner of American healthcare, Tennessee stood strong and stopped them.”
The rule in question would have required healthcare providers to offer gender dysphoria treatments, barred sex-segregated spaces, and mandated state funding for such care through Medicaid. Judge Guirola’s ruling emphasized that Congress’s original 1972 intent for Title IX referred exclusively to biological sex, rejecting the notion that federal agencies can unilaterally alter laws to advance political agendas.
The policy, first introduced under the Obama administration in 2016, was reversed by the Trump administration and later reinstated by Biden. However, it had been paused since July 2024, preventing its implementation. The court’s decision now nullifies the rule entirely, reinforcing state sovereignty over healthcare regulations.
Skrmetti praised the legal team behind the case, saying, “This decision restores not just common sense but also constitutional limits on federal overreach.”
