Orion Rummler, Eden Turner, and Jasmine Mithani also contributed to this reporting.
Major LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations are hitting back against President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to halt gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, PFLAG, which represents the parents of LGBTQ+ people, and the LGBTQ+ medical association GLMA are suing the administration in federal court. The suit, filed in Maryland’s federal district court, seeks temporary injunctive relief to stop the administration from enforcing Trump’s executive order.
Trump’s order, signed on January 28, would prohibit federal funds from going to health providers who offer gender-affirming care to people under the age of 19. Advocates have argued that the order directly contradicts federal nondiscrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act.
The lawsuit announced Tuesday is on behalf of transgender people under the age of 19 who had been “thriving” after accessing gender-affirming care to treat their gender dysphoria — and who have all now been cut off from treatment following Trump’s executive order. The plaintiffs and their families live in Maryland, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia.
The lawsuit alleges that renowned and well-staffed gender clinics including the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.; NYU Langone Health; and GeMS at Boston Children’s Hospital all denied gender-affirming care to patients. Final appointments to start hormone treatments or puberty blockers were canceled with little warning, the lawsuit says, as well as routine check-ups for patients already receiving care.
As a result, these transgender patients and their families fear spikes in anxiety and depression, as well as other negative mental and physical effects of going without treatment.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel and health care strategist for Lambda Legal, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ legal group, said in a statement that the order was “patently unlawful.”
“The federal government — particularly, this administration — has no right to insert itself into conversations and decision-making that rightly belongs only to patients, their families and their medical providers,” Gonzalez-Pagan said.
While hospitals across the country have halted gender-affirming care to minors, including Denver Health in Colorado, others have stated that they are evaluating what impact the executive order may have on their services or are reassuring patients that they will continue providing care. A White House press release cited the reviews and halting of care as proof that the executive order is having its intended effect.
Transhealth, a clinic in Western Massachusetts, told patients via a statement that it would continue to provide care. Howard Brown Health in Chicago also told The 19th they would continue to provide care for their patients.
Other clinics considered how they would be affected as the Trump administration mandates more restrictions. Fenway Health, a longtime supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, health care and research, is exploring which options will best protect the health care they provide for their community. Like many other clinics, a large portion of Fenway Health’s financial support comes from federal grants. Without federal funding, how the clinic provides gender-affirming care may change, but their mission will remain the same.
“We understand that we are more than a health care provider or a sanctuary, we are an advocate, and we’re a beacon of hope for the LGBTQ+ community,” said Dallas Ducar, Fenway Health’s executive vice president of donor engagement and external relations. “As we face potential shifts in this landscape, [our purpose] remains unchanged, and that is to protect, support and empower our patients, our staff and our community.”
In Chicago, the Lurie Children’s Hospital issued a statement that it is “reviewing the recent Executive Orders addressing gender care and assessing any potential impact to the clinical services we offer to our patient-families. Our team will continue to advocate for access to medically necessary care, grounded in science and compassion for the patient-families we are so privileged to serve.”
On Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James warned health centers in her state that ceasing health care for transgender youth would violate state law, leaving many in the crosshairs of a war between the federal and state governments and foreshadowing growing tensions between states that have LGBTQ+ protections on the books and an administration moving swiftly to rid government of those protections.
Most major medical associations endorse gender-affirming care as treatment for gender dysphoria in kids and adults. The American Medical Association did not respond to a request to comment on whether they would provide guidance to health care providers. The American Academy of Pediatrics declined to issue a statement to The 19th on the order.
In that vacuum, many parents have panicked about the future facing their transgender children, as clinics cancel appointments and advocates rush to confirm what care is and is not available.
But Alex Sheldon, executive director of GLMA, said that law and science are on their side.
“For decades, doctors and other health professionals have followed well-established medical standards to provide care that helps transgender youth thrive,” said Sheldon. “Now, an extreme political agenda is trying to overrule that expertise, putting young people and their providers in danger. GLMA is taking this fight to court because our members will not stand by while politicians try to criminalize the care they provide and deny medically-necessary treatment to young people.”
This post contains content that was first published on 19th News and republished here under a Creative Commons License. Read the original article.
See our third-party content disclaimer.
