A Christian Trans-Affirming Perspective on Changes to the Patient and Affordable Care Act Theological and Practical Implications for Social Workers of Faith
Main Article Content
Keywords
transgender, gender, policy, ethics
Abstract
The definition of sex in Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has been a topic of debate, resulting in changes to protections for transgender and gender diverse individuals. The authors invite Christian social workers to engage the intellectual side of policy development while attending to our professional and Biblical calls to care for clients who are negatively affected by policy changes. A brief discussion on gender definitions and an overview of the Christian, trans-affirming approach are included to demonstrate that there is more than one Christian perspective on gender. Current research on the experiences of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals in healthcare offers important information for Christian social workers to reflect on regarding the equitable treatment of TGD individuals despite theologically different starting points. The paper will also assist the profession, at large, to understand the diversity of voices among faith-based social workers.
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