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A coalition of attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia is suing the Trump administration over its health care policies for transgender and nonbinary youth.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Friday, argues that the administration effectively wants to impose a nationwide ban on sex change procedures by threatening providers with "baseless criminal charges" and investigations. The lawsuit comes after a month in which at least eight major hospitals and hospital systems, all in states where such care is allowed under state law, announced they were stopping or restricting gender care for minors.
“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 announcing the lawsuit. “This administration is ruthlessly targeting young people who already face immense barriers just to be seen and heard, and is putting countless lives at risk in the process. In New York and nationwide, we will never stop fighting for the dignity, safety and basic rights of the transgender community.”
Joining James in the legal action are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania.
Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order declaring that the United States would recognize only two sexes and seeking to eliminate all federal support for what he called gender ideology. A second executive order signed days later expanded the administration’s focus on eliminating gender care for youth and young adults, classifying everyone under the age of 19 as children.
"On Day One, President Trump took decisive action to stop the despicable mutilation and chemical castration of children, which everyday Americans resoundingly support," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. "The president has the lawful authority to protect America’s vulnerable children through executive action, and the administration looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue."
The U.S. Department of Justice since has taken aggressive action to implement the president’s directives, James said. Since 2021, 28 states with Republican-controlled legislatures have adopted policies to ban or restrict gender-affirming care for minors. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states have a right to enforce these laws.
The attorneys general counter that gender-affirming care is legally protected in all of their states and that federal attempts to block such care represent a blatant assault on state sovereignty in violation of the Tenth Amendment. The attorneys general are asking the court to “halt this unconstitutional pressure campaign and ensure transgender youth can continue to access legally protected health care without fear.”
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