Hi John,

Earlier this month we sued the Trump administration to stop its cruel rule that attempts to undermine patient protections and embolden health care providers, insurance companies, and hospitals to discriminate against patients. We can get into the details of the lawsuit later, but for now I wanted to share the story of one of our clients in this case, Darren Lazor. Because stories like Darren’s are why we do this work.

Darren is a transgender man living in Ohio who has experienced discrimination while trying to seek out the health care he needed.

A few years ago, Darren was having strange symptoms that later turned out to be caused by a large ovarian cyst that needed to be removed. He was denied care because of his health care providers’ personal beliefs not once, not twice, but three times before he got help.

The first doctor determined a hysterectomy may be the right treatment, but said: “I will never perform a hysterectomy on a young woman.”

The second doctor had a receptionist call Darren to tell him that the physician didn’t want to treat him—he should see another physician.

The third doctor called Darren before his appointment—she’d be willing to help with some forms of treatment, but wouldn’t be willing to perform a hysterectomy.

On his fourth try, Darren was able to find a doctor who was actually willing to treat him and give him the care he needed.

No one should ever have to experience what Darren did. No one should have to show up at the doctor’s office afraid that discrimination will prevent them from receiving proper medical attention and care.

When we asked Darren whether he wanted to share his story publicly, he said if it helped one person avoid going through what he went through—he wanted to do it. We want to send Darren a message of support and encouragement as Darren resists the Trump administration’s cruel efforts to embolden health care providers, insurance companies, and hospitals to discriminate against patients.

We’ve pushed back against the Trump administration’s attempt to roll back the nondiscrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act’s Health Care Rights Law since the beginning, including filing over 100,000 comments against the rule (a lot of them from you!). Now we’re taking them to court, and we’re proud to be working alongside Darren and the rest of our incredible partners.

We’re in this fight with Darren every step of the way—because personal beliefs should never dictate the care a patient gets.

Thanks for sending Darren a letter with your support,
Hannah Finnie
she/her/hers
Senior Manager, Campaign and Digital Strategies
National Women's Law Center