A group of 3,000 doctors and medical professionals is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over a mandate that broadens the term “sex” in federal civil rights statutes to include “gender identity” and “sexual orientation.”

This from theepochtimes.com.

First, do no harm.

The expression “first, do no harm” is not part of the original or modern versions of the Hippocratic oath, however, the oath, written in the 5th century BCE, does contain language suggesting that the physician and his assistants should not cause physical or moral harm to a patient. The takeaway point of “first, do no harm” is that, in certain cases, it may be better to do nothing rather than intervening and potentially causing more harm than good.

The doctors challenging the rule say the mandate will force them to provide treatment, despite whether they think it’s medically wrong for the patient or if it goes against their religious beliefs. That makes it unconstitutional, they say.

The group argues that the rule, among other things, forces physicians who see Medicaid patients or receive federal funding to provide “gender-affirming” care to children who want to transition to the opposite sex. This includes prescribing hormone treatments and puberty blockers and performing surgery such as removing girls’ breasts.

As such, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the American College of Pediatricians, an adolescent care obstetrics and gynecology organization, and Catholic Medical Associates.

The lawsuit, filed on Aug. 26, 2021, asks the court to block HHS from penalizing doctors for refusing to provide gender-altering treatments to children for any reason.

The case initially was dismissed by a lower court when the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion claiming that it would honor doctors’ constitutional right to refuse such treatments.

However, ADF attorney Chris Schandevel said his clients worry that a dismissed case could mean DOJ officials could reverse the department’s stance at any time. So, he’s seeking an injunction to specifically prevent HHS or any other federal agency from disciplining doctors who refuse to give children such treatments for any reason.

The HHS mandate in May 2021 followed an executive order issued four months earlier by Joe Biden. The order expanded the interpretation of “sex” beyond a person’s biology, to include a person’s declared “gender identity” or “sexual orientation.”

Mr. Schandevel said:

This ‘gender-affirming’ care would extend to pediatric services and potentially bring about disciplinary action for physicians refusing for any reason to provide that care to children.

The DOJ filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on July 19, 2022, claiming that the HHS hasn’t mandated that health care providers “perform all kinds of gender transition services, even providers who have religious objections” and that the lawsuit begins on a “false premise” by suggesting that such a mandate exists.

HHS attorneys assert in the motion that their interpretation of Biden’s executive order means “sex discrimination extends to gender-identity discrimination.”

They wrote:

But this doesn’t indicate that doctors opposed to providing gender-altering treatments fall within the scope of unlawful gender-identity discrimination, and HHS has consistently affirmed that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and other religious defenses may be raised, on a case-by-case basis, to a charge of discrimination.

Proponents of helping children try to alter their gender identity argue that access to such childhood procedures lowers the rate of suicide among minors who identify as transgender.

Some doctors and researchers with undecided opinions on the topic of pediatric “gender-affirming” care are afraid to question its merits for fear of losing their jobs, their ability to publish research, and, in essence, their careers.

Dr. Quentin Van Meter, a pediatrician and pediatric endocrinologist with five decades of experience said:

The journals are in lockstep with this right at this point in time. It is a scary circumstance when ideology takes over science. And it just should not happen.

Further:

My fear is that tens or hundreds of thousands of kids are going to have interventions which will harm them irreparably in the meantime. And my heart goes out to those families. Most kids are just going to the wrong place, and having the wrong things done.

Dr. Van Meter concluded:

Many children who identify as transgender are suffering mental health crises.

It’s important to provide compassionate care for those experiencing an incongruence of their gender identity and their biological sex.

Final thought: First, do no harm.