Trump Halts Funding For Transgender Healthcare For Minors
United States President Donald Trump has issued an executive order ending federal funding and support for healthcare aiding transgender youth.
The move, announced on Tuesday, follows a series of measures restricting transgender rights within his first eight days in office, Reuters reports.
“It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the executive order declared.
Supporters, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, hailed the decision as “a refreshing return to sanity.” Critics, however, expressed outrage.
Marci Bowers, a surgeon providing transgender care, said Trump would “have blood on his hands.”
Chase Strangio of the American Civil Liberties Union vowed legal action, stating, “We will not allow this dangerous, sweeping, and unconstitutional order to stand.”
Lambda Legal also pledged resistance, citing the “unnecessary pain and suffering” the order could inflict on transgender youth.
The executive order aims to block Medicare payments for transgender healthcare and limit Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits insurers from denying coverage to transgender patients.
Trump also directed the health and human services secretary to review “best practices” for transgender healthcare within 90 days.
Bowers, a former president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, defended current standards for transgender youth.
“They’re trying to make gender binary, and that’s simply not how gender is,” she said.
The move comes as Republicans in more than half of U.S. states have passed laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors, with some cases awaiting Supreme Court rulings that could set nationwide precedents.
