The Biden administration released proposed regulations on July 25 that would enhance existing protections for the LGBTQ2S+ community. Specifically, the new rules reaffirm that discrimination against LGBTQ2S+ people, and people who have had abortions, is illegal in federally funded health settings and explicitly prohibits healthcare discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. However, the proposal also includes a religious exemption for healthcare providers with objections to certain procedures like abortion and gender-affirming surgery—although the exact breadth of the exemption isn’t clear.

This article is published in Xtra Magazine.