Seven states and the American College of Pediatricians are suing the Biden administration for adopting a new rule that would require physicians and healthcare personnel to provide transgender medicine to patients, including minors.

The lawsuit comes following extensive backlash regarding a rule promulgated this April by the Department of Health and Human Services that redefines “sex discrimination” in healthcare programs to include “gender identity” and “sexual orientation.” 

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including Missouri, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Idaho, and Arkansas, argue that the rule violates the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, by requiring doctors to act against their sound medical judgment for patients with gender dysphoria.

HHS issued the rule change using the logic of the 2020 Supreme Court decision Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the court held that prohibitions against sex discrimination could also be interpreted to protect against gender identity and sexual orientation bias.

Julie Marie Blake, the senior counsel on the case from the conservative advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, called the rule an “attempt to hijack medicine.”

“Medical professionals around the world and individuals who have undergone these experimental, body-altering procedures are warning about their risks,” Blake said. “Yet the Biden administration is working to force doctors to perform these harmful, often sterilizing procedures to make people appear as the opposite sex.”

Several countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom, have rolled back their previously expansive policies on gender-transition medicine for children and adolescents following recent debates over the quality of evidence supporting their efficacy.

At least 25 states have passed restrictions on gender-transition medicine for minors, including Florida, Ohio, and Montana, where signed legislation is enjoined in state courts.

The plaintiffs in Wednesday’s lawsuit asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to enjoin the rule “preliminarily and permanently.”

Documents from the suit noted that three other federal courts in Tennessee, Florida, and Texas have thwarted the implementation of the rule since it was introduced in late April. 

Republicans in Congress have also taken aim at the new rule, saying it does not leave sufficient room for conscience protections for doctors and other healthcare professionals who object to gender-transition medicine on religious liberty grounds.

Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), along with Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) are spearheading the effort to issue a Congressional Review Act joint resolution to overturn the federal agency’s rule. If signed into law or passed with enough votes to override a presidential veto, the joint resolution would not be subject to judicial review. 

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But President Joe Biden could veto the joint resolution if it were to reach his desk.

HHS did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.