What you need to know
Health Care for Trans Youth
Since returning to the White House, President Trump has issued many ‘executive actions.’ The full impact of these executive actions is uncertain and their effects continue to unfold. TLC will continue to analyze the executive actions and track important developments. It is important to remember: executive actions do not change the law. At the same time, we know that these actions embolden people across the country (inside and outside of government) to persecute and harass transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people.
Transgender and nonbinary youth deserve access to holistic healthcare that affirms their experiences, values consent, and respects their self-determination in their healthcare choices.
This executive action seeks to harass and retaliate against health care providers and institutions that provide health care for trans youth. The executive action threatens to withhold federal funds from institutions, like hospitals and local clinics, that provide trans health care to anyone under 19 years old, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and certain surgeries. The executive action directs the Department of Health and Human services to create new rules that would impact Medicare, Medicaid, and the non-discrimination protections of the Affordable Care Act. The Department of Health and Human Services was also directed to take back guidance that protected health care for trans youth.
Immediate Impacts
For now, courts have blocked this executive action from going into effect. In the days immediately following the order, some hospitals, clinics, and health care providers that offered health care services for trans youth paused or stopped offering such care. In response, some communities organized protests that led some health care providers to resume providing care. A group of state attorneys general issued a statement affirming their commitment to protect access to health care for trans youth.
Reports
This is a series of explainers of the executive actions issued in the early days of the second Trump administration. This is not legal advice. The information contained in this explainer is as up-to-date and accurate as possible on the date of publication but the implementation of the executive actions and other circumstances are constantly evolving.
Download the “protect access to health care for trans youth” PDF.