States sue Trump admin over trans care access
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Supporters of transgender youth demonstrate outside Children's Hospital Los Angeles in February after it announced it was pausing hormone therapy for patients under the age of 19. Photo: Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration over what they charge is a coordinated federal effort to intimidate health care providers into stopping gender-affirming care for individuals under age 19.
The big picture: The suit revolved around a January executive order President Trump issued and subsequent administration actions the states say amount to an attempt to enforce a nationwide ban on transition-related care.
The latest: The administration actions are not only denying medically necessary care but coercing hospitals and doctors into violating anti-discrimination and other state laws, according to the complaint.
- The suit referenced Justice Department guidance threatening criminal prosecution of providers, investigations of hospitals, and demands for patient data.
- The states asked the court for an injunction, saying the actions were unlawful and intrude on their authority to enforce their own laws.
- The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts by attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was also listed as a plaintiff.
Between the lines: While courts have temporarily blocked the administration from stripping federal funding from providers of gender-affirming medical services to minors, the Justice Department has taken other steps, including subpoenaing doctors for patient information.
- Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission has launched an inquiry into whether providers are making false claims about gender-affirming care's benefits or not disclosing risks.
- The efforts have prompted major hospitals to pause or shut down transition-related services in states where they remain legal.
- "This reduction in services has caused significant harm to transgender adolescents in the Plaintiff States, depriving them of essential care at a critical time in their development," the states argue in the complaint.
What they're saying: "The federal government is running a cruel and targeted harassment campaign against providers who offer lawful, lifesaving care to children," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "This administration is ruthlessly targeting young people who already face immense barriers just to be seen and heard, and are putting countless lives at risk in the process."
- The White House last week claimed credit for making providers halt what it termed "child sexual mutilation," issuing a release listing more than a dozen health systems that stopped providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries.
- "On Day One, President Trump took decisive action to stop the despicable mutilation and chemical castration of children — which everyday Americans resoundingly support," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers wrote in an email. "The President has the lawful authority to protect America's vulnerable children through executive action, and the Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue.
About 40% of transgender youth live in the 27 states that already limit access to gender-affirming care for minors, according to KFF. Of those states, 17 currently face legal challenges to their policies.
- Major medical associations including the American Medical Association endorse gender-affirming care to treat gender dysphoria in minors.
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