Several state and religiously affiliated organizations filed suit [complaint, PDF] in federal court Tuesday regarding the Affordable Care Act’s rule banning discrimination on the basis of sex, including gender identity. The plaintiffs include the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Franciscan Alliance, the Christian Medical & Dental Association, and Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas and Wisconsin. The lawsuit argues that the ACA’s rule [text, PDF] forces doctors to administer treatments that would be against their religious beliefs. The plaintiffs assert that doctors would be forced [Guardian report] to perform sex change operations on children averse to the doctors’ judgment and the children’s development. Many medical associations argue that medical care related to transitioning is medically necessary and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) [advocacywebsite] maintains [US News report] that doctors will not be forced to administer procedures against their better judgment, but will be required to make sure that transgender people can get necessary treatment.

Transgender access to healthcare has been a controversial topic and has created a wave of legislative and judicial actions. This week a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas temporarily blocked [JURIST report] federal guidelines that allowed transgender students to use the bathroom according to the gender with which they identify. Earlier this month a divided US Supreme Court granted [JURIST report] an application to recall and stay lower court orders allowing a transgender student who identities as a male to use the men’s restroom in school. Last month Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed [JURIST report] a bill into law protecting against discrimination on the basis of gender identity.