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A group of 19 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a declaration aimed at limiting gender reassignment for minors.
Lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services; his secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; and its inspector general comes after a declaration released last week called treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-bending surgery unsafe and ineffective for children with gender dysphoria.
The declaration also warned doctors that they could be excluded from federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, if they provided such treatment to minors.
This step is aimed at supporting the president Donald Trump January executive order calling on HHS to protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.”
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The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; his secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; and its inspector general. (Elisabeth Franz/Reuters)
“We are taking six decisive actions, guided by the scientific gold standard and President Trump's Week 1 executive order, to protect children from chemical and surgical injuries,” Kennedy said during a news conference last week.
HHS has also proposed new rules designed to further block gender reassignment procedures for minors, although the lawsuit does not address rules that have not yet been finalized.
The states' lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Eugene, Oregon, claims the declaration is inaccurate and illegal and asks the court to prevent it from being enforced.
“Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online, and no one should lose access to medically necessary medical care because their federal government attempted to interfere with decisions that belong to doctors' offices,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the lawsuit, said in a statement.
The lawsuit claims the declaration attempts to pressure service providers to stop gender transition treatment for young people and circumvent legal requirements for policy changes. The complaint states that federal law requires that the public be notified and given an opportunity to comment before significant changes to health care policy are made, and that none of these actions were done before the declaration was issued.
The HHS action builds on President Donald Trump's January executive order calling on HHS to protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilations.” (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The declaration bases its findings on a peer-reviewed report prepared by the department earlier this year that called for greater use of behavioral therapy rather than broad gender transition treatment for minors with gender dysphoria.
The report raised questions about standards of care for transgender children issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and raised concerns that young people may be too young to consent to life-changing treatment that could lead to infertility in the future.
Major medical groups and doctors who treat transgender children criticized the report as inaccurate.
Last week, HHS also announced two proposed federal rules: one that would prohibit federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals offering gender reassignment treatments to children, and another that would prohibit the use of federal Medicaid money for those procedures.
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New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading the lawsuit against the Trump administration. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The proposals are not yet final or legally binding because they must go through a lengthy rulemaking process and public comment before they can be implemented.
Several major medical institutions have already abandoned gender transition treatments for young people since Trump returned to office, even in Democratic-led states where the procedures are legal under state law.
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Medicaid programs in just under half of states now cover gender transition treatment. At least 27 states have passed laws restricting or banning such treatments, and a Supreme Court decision this year upholding Tennessee's ban likely means other state laws will remain in effect.
Democratic attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington State and Washington, D.C., as well as the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania joined James in the lawsuit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
