More than a dozen officials from Democratic-led states are suing to block the Trump administration from blocking access to sex change procedures and treatments for people under 19.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the administration effectively wants to impose a nationwide ban on sex change procedures by threatening providers with "baseless criminal charges" and investigations.
"The federal government is running a cruel and targeted harassment campaign against providers who offer lawful, lifesaving care to children," New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the coalition of states in the suit, said in a statement.
MAJOR CONNECTICUT HOSPITALS BEGIN 'WINDING DOWN' YOUTH GENDER PROGRAMS CITING 'EVOLVING LANDSCAPE'
Demonstrators protest in support of rights for transgender youth. More than a dozen states are suing the Trump administration over policies to restrict access to sex change procedures and treatments for minors. (Fox News )
"This administration is ruthlessly targeting young people who already face immense barriers just to be seen and heard, and are putting countless lives at risk in the process," she added. "In New York and nationwide, we will never stop fighting for the dignity, safety, and basic rights of the transgender community."
The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department as defendants. It challenges Trump's Jan. 28 executive order barring government support for sex change operations and treatments and two memos by Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.
Bondi's memo directs the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those who offer sex change treatments to minors. Shumate’s memo directs prosecutors to prioritize investigations against doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that perform such procedures.
The Justice Department has launched probes into three children's hospitals for allegedly providing such treatments.
CHILDREN'S NATIONAL HOSPITAL IN DC TO END GENDER TRANSITION MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS
"On Day One, President Trump took decisive action to stop the despicable mutilation and chemical castration of children – which everyday Americans resoundingly support," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. "The President has the lawful authority to protect America’s vulnerable children through executive action, and the Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue."
In July, Kaiser Permanente announced that it would pause sex change surgeries for patients under 19 beginning Aug. 29 in response to the Trump administration's efforts on the matter. The same month, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shuttered its Center for Transyouth Health and Development, one of the nation’s largest clinics for transgender young people.
Children's Hospital Los Angeles (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
The Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., also announced that it will no longer provide gender transition-related medical interventions.
"These changes have been touted by Defendants as precisely what was intended by their unlawful and disingenuous targeting: the end of healthcare for transgender individuals under 19," the complaint reads.
Many states have laws restricting or banning sex change surgeries for children. The states named in the lawsuit -- California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin. – allow such treatments.
Other nations have pushed back on sex change procedures for children. In March, the United Kingdom banned puberty blockers – a class of drugs that suppresses sex hormones in adolescents by continually stimulating the pituitary gland -- for children seeking treatment for gender dysphoria.