Judge voids Trump's 'religious freedom' rule that allowed medical providers to use religion as shield to refuse care

A federal judge has just voided President Donald Trump's rule that allowed medical providers to cite their personal religious or moral beliefs as a reason to refuse to provide care to certain individuals or to perform certain procedures.

Abortion, contraception, and care of LGBT, especially transgender individuals are among the events that, under the Trump rue, providers could refuse patients.

"U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan declared the rule unconstitutional in a decision stemming from a lawsuit by New York and 22 other mostly Democratic states and municipalities," The Washington Post reports.

The rule came from the Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights, headed by Roger Severino, a right wing religious activist. Severino has a background in working for far right religious organizations and has used his considerable power at HHS to work against women and the LGBTQ community.

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