States sue Trump admin over trans care access

Axios

5 days ago

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 on 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.
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.
"For years, politicians have promised to end the barbaric, pseudoscientific practice — but President Trump is the only one who has actually delivered," it said in a statement.
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.