Attorneys General Challenge Trump Administration Over Trans Youth Care
A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, contesting its efforts to target medical professionals who provide gender identity care to transgender youth and young adults. The complaint, lodged in federal court in Boston on March 15, 2024, argues that an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump in late January, along with subsequent actions by the Department of Justice (DOJ), are unlawful and must be permanently blocked.
The executive order aims specifically at medical procedures designed to alter sex or gender for individuals under 19 years old, focusing on surgical interventions and the use of puberty blockers or sex hormones. The plaintiffs assert that the administration’s actions have effectively discouraged providers from offering necessary gender-affirming care, which is both lawful and protected in their states.
According to the lawsuit, “The administration has explicitly threatened civil and criminal prosecution of providers of this care and launched criminal investigations into children’s hospitals,” without credible evidence that these hospitals have violated any existing laws. As a result, the lawsuit seeks to protect access to this vital medical care, which many advocates argue is essential for the well-being of transgender youth.
The legal action follows a broader trend in which advocates for trans youth have increasingly turned to federal courts to counteract various measures taken by the Trump administration to limit access to gender identity care and roll back transgender rights. Notably, the executive order also instructed the DOJ to investigate states that permit such medical procedures and to review the enforcement of federal laws regarding female genital mutilation on minors.
Earlier this month, the DOJ confirmed it had issued over 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children, although it did not disclose the specific entities involved. The attorneys general contend that these threats lack legal foundation, as no federal statute prohibits or criminalizes the provision of gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents.
The landscape of healthcare for transgender youth is complex, with over two dozen states having enacted bans on various forms of transgender care for children and teenagers, according to a CNN analysis of data from the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit organization advocating for LGBTQ rights. These bans encompass a range of treatments, from puberty blockers and hormone therapy to surgeries, which are infrequently performed on minors.
In contrast, the states participating in the lawsuit, which include New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C., have enacted laws to protect access to such care for their residents.
The lawsuit emphasizes that the Trump administration’s actions infringe upon the states’ authority to regulate the practice of medicine and their considered judgment that access to medical care for adolescents should be safeguarded. Notably, prominent medical associations, including the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, Endocrine Society, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, continue to advocate for the provision of gender identity care, asserting that it is clinically appropriate and can provide lifesaving treatment.
As the legal battle unfolds, the outcome may significantly impact the availability of gender-affirming care and the rights of transgender individuals across the United States.
