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A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block proposed rules by the Trump administration that would significantly restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender children. The legal challenge, filed Tuesday in Oregon federal court, marks the latest confrontation over President Donald Trump’s broader efforts to roll back legal protections for transgender people across the United States.
The lawsuit targets newly proposed rules from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which would bar hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors from receiving Medicaid and Medicare funding. The proposal would also prohibit the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from covering such care. According to HHS, an internal review concluded that medical and surgical treatments for children and adolescents diagnosed with gender dysphoria present an “unfavorable risk-benefit profile,” a finding that has drawn sharp criticism from medical experts and state officials.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia argue that the proposed rules are unlawful and represent federal overreach into medical decision-making. The plaintiffs contend that HHS is attempting to dictate medical standards without proper authority, intimidate healthcare providers, and undermine states’ rights to regulate medicine. They warn that the rules would jeopardize access to medically necessary healthcare for transgender youth and place hospitals and doctors at risk of losing critical funding.
New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that the federal government cannot unilaterally redefine medical standards or interfere in decisions that belong in doctors’ offices. The lawsuit emphasizes that providers could be forced to choose between abandoning patients or risking their livelihoods if the rules are implemented.
The legal action comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to curb what it describes as the promotion of “gender ideology.” This year alone, the administration has sought to ban transgender individuals from military service, restrict gender markers on passports, and limit bathroom access for federal workers. Transgender rights have become a major political flashpoint, with more than two dozen Republican-led states enacting laws that restrict or ban gender-affirming care for minors following the 2024 election.
