WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys
WHAT: Available for media interviews following oral argument in McComb Children’s Clinic v. Kennedy
WHEN: Immediately following oral argument, which begins at 9 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, Oct. 7
WHERE: John Minor Wisdom U.S. Court of Appeals Building, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, 600 Camp St., New Orleans; or view the livestream. To schedule an interview, contact ADF Media Relations Specialist Claire Carson at (757) 556-3653.
NEW ORLEANS – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a Mississippi children’s clinic will be available for media interviews Wednesday following oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in McComb Children’s Clinic v. Kennedy.
McComb Children’s Clinic is a pediatrics practice that serves the McComb, Mississippi, community. The clinic’s pediatricians work with parents to provide compassionate, comprehensive services to children from birth through adolescence. In 2024, ADF attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after the agency adopted a rule that forced medical caregivers to provide and promote harmful procedures or face severe financial consequences. A gender identity mandate in that rule is still in place.
“Doctors should be allowed to fulfill their oath to do no harm and follow their medical judgment without fear of government harassment,” said ADF Senior Counsel Matt Bowman, director of regulatory practice, who will be arguing before the court on behalf of the children’s clinic. “The Biden administration adopted radical healthcare policies that completely upended the practice of medicine and forced doctors to conduct experimental and harmful medical procedures on children. Congress did not grant HHS any kind of authority to force providers to perform these dangerous medical interventions, and we are urging the court to halt the previous administration’s vast overreach in healthcare.”
The Biden administration’s rule change redefined “sex” in federal healthcare nondiscrimination law to include “gender identity.” Because McComb Children’s Clinic is committed to children’s health based on their biology—and because the clinic is following state law that prohibits gender transition procedures on minors—the rule change forced it to lose federal funding or risk severe penalties unless it provides, promotes, or refers for harmful procedures, which it will not do.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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