Regarding the validity of the disability civil rights law, Indiana has joined a federal lawsuit

Indianapolis, Indiana – In an effort to declare Section 504, a federal civil rights provision that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, unlawful, the State of Indiana has joined the lawsuit.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services “Final Rule” addition to Section 504 in May 2024 is being contested by 17 states, including Indiana, according to a complaint filed in a federal court in Lubbock, Texas in September 2024.

According to the U.S. Administration for Community Living’s website, the first civil rights law to protect disabled people from discrimination was Section 504, which was a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

According to the act, no program or activity that receives government funding should discriminate against, exclude, or deny the advantages of participation to people with disabilities. This covers public education, public transportation, and health care.

Former President Joe Biden signed an order in May 2024 adding “gender dysphoria” to Section 504’s definition of disability, noting that it may qualify as a mental or physical handicap that is protected.

According to court filings, this amendment sparked the case, with the defendants emphasizing that there is no medical test that can confirm or deny gender dysphoria.

The lawsuit contends that “transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, (and) gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments or other sexual behavior disorders” are expressly excluded from the definition of disability in the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is the same definition as the Rehabilitation Act.

Additionally, according to the lawsuit, the Final Rule goes beyond the Department of Health and Human Services’ jurisdiction by:

• Obligating all recipients of federal financial assistance to provide services in ‘the most integrated setting’ as defined in the Final Rule

• Prohibiting actions that result in ‘serious risk of institutionalization’

• Allowing discrimination claims to be brought when no institutionalization or segregation has actually occurred.

The filings stated, “The court should set aside the Final Rule, enjoin Defendants from enforcing or implementing it, and declare it unlawful because the Final Rule’s stipulation that gender dysphoria “may be a disability” is contrary to the express language in the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA.”

The lawsuit also claimed that implementing this Final Rule would “impose substantial costs on the state and add new regulatory burdens due to the state of Indiana’s participation in the Medicaid program.”

The case as it stands, however, would completely repeal Section 504 in addition to adding the Final Rule. In order to avoid having to enforce Section 504, the states are requesting that a federal judge rule that Section 504 is “unconstitutional” and “issue permanent injunctive relief,” according to the complaint’s demand for relief section.

The states contend that Section 504 is “unfairly retroactive, coercive, and unrelated to the federal interest in disability.”

According to the lawsuit, “The Rehabilitation Act fails to provide States with clear notice, preventing States from voluntarily and knowingly exercising choice in accepting federal funds.” “The universal scope of Section 504 unfairly surprises States by retroactively adding conditions to federal spending programs that already existed.”

According to a representative for the Indiana Attorney General’s office, Todd Rokita is “in full support” of both the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504, although he is not in favor of the act’s May 2024 amendments.

The spokesman stated in the statement, “That is precisely why Indiana joined a multi-state lawsuit to stop the Biden Administration’s unlawful attempts to add “gender identity disorders” to the list of disabilities.” “And now, President Trump will restore Section 504 to its original intent.”