Abdelrahman
On Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge mandated that the Trump administration must maintain federal funding for hospitals providing gender-transition healthcare to individuals under 19 years of age.
Judge Brendan A. Hurson issued a temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit filed by six transgender youth, aged 12 to 18, alongside their parents and advocacy organizations. This case challenges the executive orders enacted by President Trump that specifically target medical treatments for transgender adolescents.
While this order is not a definitive ruling on the broader legal matters, it presents a significant challenge to the Trump administration’s agenda. It creates an additional barrier against efforts to restrict government and taxpayer-funded entities from recognizing transgender individuals according to their self-identified genders. In a related case earlier this month, a different federal judge halted Trump’s directive aimed at denying gender-transition medical care for federal inmates, as well as the placement of transgender women among male prison populations.
Judge Hurson, appointed by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., will oversee the developments in this case, which involves plaintiffs from Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts arguing that their access to gender-transition medical services was jeopardized by two executive orders announced shortly after Trump’s inauguration.
One of these executive orders instructs federal agencies to ensure that funding for research and educational grants does not support what is described as “gender ideology,” which includes the belief that individuals can identify as a gender different from their biological sex. The second order specifically mandates that agencies withhold funds from medical providers that offer puberty blockers, hormone therapies, or surgical procedures for individuals under 19 undergoing gender transition.
The lawsuit indicates that following Trump’s announcement, numerous clinics canceled scheduled appointments for gender-transition services. The plaintiffs referenced a recent White House press release stating that the administration’s efforts are achieving their intended consequences, pointing out several hospitals that have made announcements in alignment with these changes.
