Transsexual Medicine Banned at US Catholic Hospitals

Today, a collection of Catholic Bishops from across the United States voted to ban transsexual medicine at Catholic hospitals, no matter the age of the patient.

This goes beyond the restrictions against people 19 and under getting transsexual medicine that has been set by other hospitals.  This is the most sweeping restriction of its kind by any major American Health institution.

This comes after a 2023 doctrinal note by US Bishops that said “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, or take part in the development of such procedures.”

The bishops were clear on their motivations.  Bishop Robert Barron stated that “With regard to the gender ideology, I think it’s very important the church makes a strong statement here,”.  This refers to the debunked conspiracy that the rise in the number of trans people is part of a deliberate plot to defile the ‘natural order’, as proponents see it.

The US has over 600 Catholic hospitals and 1600 related care facilities.  1 in 7 Americans receives care from one of these institutions.

Many rural areas are solely dependent on Catholic hospitals for coverage, especially in the rural Midwest.  The result is that many transsexuals in these areas are solely reliant on them for access to essential care.

The implementation of this ban will almost certainly be the subject of lawsuits.  However, given the enormous leeway that religious institutions have in governing their own affairs under the legal doctrine of religious freedom, the Catholic Church and its institutions have a solid chance of winning any such cases.