A federal judge in Oregon issued a final ruling permanently blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to restrict federal funding for gender-affirming medical care for minors. Judge Mustafa Kasubhai found that the federal government exceeded its authority when it issued a December declaration that threatened physicians with loss of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements if they provided such care.
The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was filed in late December by a coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia, including Washington. The state of Washington, whose leadership takes a progressive stance and seeks to be a refuge for transgender people, actively supports access to gender-affirming care—contrasting with the policies of many conservative states such as Texas or Florida. The case also named HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the HHS inspector general. The plaintiffs argued that the administration ignored the law in its effort to deny transgender youth medical care to which they are legally entitled.
In his 49-page opinion, Judge Kasubhai granted the states’ motion for summary judgment and condemned the federal government’s “reckless” efforts to restrict care, finding they did not comply with proper administrative procedures. The judge sharply criticized the agency’s haste, which left patients and families no time to find alternatives, and said that the “leader’s disregard for the rule of law” had caused “chaos and terror” across the country.
The HHS declaration, published Dec. 18, asserted that some forms of gender-affirming care are “unsafe and ineffective” and sought to supplant standards of medical practice set at the state level. The judge noted that those threats had already led to the closure of several specialized clinics nationwide, including Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. That hospital, one of the state’s leading pediatric centers and part of the large MultiCare system with a strong reputation in pediatric surgery and emergency care, shut down its gender clinic earlier this year.
The judge’s order now vacates Kennedy’s declaration and bars the federal government from attempting to override professionally recognized standards of gender-affirming care. State officials said the decision will also “protect health care providers and hospitals from the destructive consequences of HHS’s unlawful actions.” The judge emphasized that the secretary’s unlawful conduct harmed children, illustrating that when a leader acts without authority and without regard for the rule of law, he acts with cruelty.
Based on: Oregon judge blocks Trump move to restrict youth gender-affirming care