A Pittsburgh crowd protests UPMC's cuts to gender-affirming care in June. Photo: Chrissy Suttles/Axios
Pennsylvania is among 16 states suing the Trump administration over what plaintiffs call a coordinated effort to intimidate providers into halting gender-affirming care for minors.
The big picture: The suit centers on a January executive order issued by President Trump, along with subsequent administration actions, that states argue amount to a de facto ban on transition-related care.
Catch up quick: A wave of federal actions under President Trump has put hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to people under 19 on notice.
The latest: The administration's actions are not only denying medically necessary care, but coercing hospitals and doctors into violating anti-discrimination and other state laws, per the complaint.
The states asked the court for an injunction, saying the actions were unlawful and intrude on their authority to enforce their own laws.
The lawsuit notes that the orders have led Pennsylvania health systems like UPMC, Penn State Health, and Penn Medicine to halt some or all gender-affirming medical care for patients under 19.
Between the lines: While courts have temporarily blocked the administration from stripping federal funding from providers of gender-affirming medical services, the Justice Department has taken other steps, including subpoenaing doctors for patient information.
UPMC was among more than 20 doctors and clinics subpoenaed.
What they're saying: "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 say in the suit.
The other side: The White House last week took credit for halting what it called "child sexual mutilation," listing more than a dozen health systems that had stopped offering puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries.
