Transgender health care protections overturned by Trump administration

The Trump administration Friday finalized a regulation that overturns Obama-era protections for transgender people against sex discrimination in health care.

The policy shift, long-sought by the president’s religious and socially conservative supporters, defines gender as a person’s biological sex. The Obama regulation defined gender as a person’s internal sense of being male, female, neither or a combination.

LGBTQ groups say explicit protections are needed for people seeking sex-reassignment treatment, and even for transgender people who need medical care for common conditions such as diabetes or heart problems.

Behind the dispute over legal rights is a medically recognized condition called “gender