The Obama administration actually dropped not one but two bombshells on Friday when it threatened the nation's public schools with the loss of billions of dollars of federal funding unless they comply with its vision of gender ideology, LifeSiteNews reports.
Largely unreported in the media was the second White House threat: That it would withhold federal funding on healthcare institutions that refuse to perform "gender transition" services and abortions.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the final rule for Obamacare's Section 1557 on Friday, requiring healthcare providers receiving federal funds to do as told or face termination of government aid, along with possible referral to the Department of Justice for legal action.
The HHS states that the new rule "builds on prior Federal civil rights laws to prohibit sex discrimination in health care" and "also prohibits the denial of health care or health coverage based on an individual's sex, including discrimination based on pregnancy, gender identity, and sex stereotyping. The final rule also requires covered health programs and activities to treat individuals consistent with their gender identity."
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and other religiously affiliated groups opposed the rule's coverage of abortion and "gender reassignment" treatment last year.
Religious liberty and family advocates condemned the rule, citing its lack of constitutionality.
"It's laughable to suggest that when Congress referred to 'sex' in [Obamacare's] Section 1557 it was referring to anything other than biological sex," stated Ken Klukowski, attorney with First Liberty Institute and Breitbart News legal editor.
"This is Orwellian," Klukowski wrote at Breitbart. "But beyond that, it is an unconstitutional assault on the First Amendment that the Obama administration is forcing their rejection of biological fact onto people whose faith teaches that 'man' and 'woman' refer to what they have meant for thousands of years, and that God purposefully created them that way."
Jane Orient, the executive director for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, accused the Obama administration of dictating medical ethics through the rule, which would lead to doctors and hospitals discontinuing acceptance of Medicare and Medicaid.
Orient decried the medical danger in the Obama administration's imposition of gender ideology as well.
"Transgender treatment, especially to minors, inflicts irreversible harm on persons too young to consent," she said. "It constitutes radical, non-consented social experimentation. Chemical or surgical castration should be considered a crime against humanity."
