A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s executive actions denying federal funding to hospitals offering gender-transition treatment to minors, responding to a lawsuit filed by seven adolescents and teens seeking cross-sex drugs and surgeries.
U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Thursday forbidding the Trump administration from withholding federal funds to medical providers who provide “gender-affirming care” to those 18 and younger.
The judge, a Biden appointee and former federal public defender, instructed the administration to report back on its compliance with the court order by Feb. 20. He also told the parties to file a joint status report proposing a briefing schedule on a preliminary injunction by Feb. 18.
Cheering the decision was the American Civil Liberties Union, which along with Lambda Legal, represents the seven young people and LGBTQ groups that filed the Feb. 4 lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Maryland.
“Good and decent parents of transgender kids should never be in the frightening position of having their child’s prescribed, medically necessary care canceled at the whim and threat of a politician. But that’s exactly what President Trump’s executive order did,” said Brian Bond, CEO of PFLAG National, one of the LGBTQ groups on the lawsuit.
Major medical centers, including Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and NYU Langone Health, halted gender-transition treatment for those under 19 in reaction to Mr. Trump’s order, but the ACLU encouraged them to lift their suspensions.
“Providers who’ve suspended healthcare for their transgender patients should be left with no doubt that they can lift those suspensions and continue to provide healthcare and act in their best medical judgment without risking their funding or worse,” said Joshua Block, ACLU senior staff attorney.
Mark Trammell, Center for American Liberty executive director, said it was “not surprising to see a Biden-appointed judge issue [an order] halting President Trump’s vital executive order safeguarding kids from the gender-industrial complex.”
The center has championed detransitioners – young men and women who once sought to change their gender and then changed their minds – including Chloe Cole, who underwent a double-mastectomy at age 15.
“The Trump EO was an exciting and symbolic first step but it’s clear it isn’t enough. The fight against gender ideology and the broader woke agenda is far from over,” Ms. Cole said. “Congress must act, but even more importantly, detransitioners like myself need to continue pursuing legal action.”
In 2023, Ms. Cole filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Kaiser Permanente, saying she and her parents came under intense pressure from her health-care providers to undergo medicalized gender-reassignment procedures.
“We must make these procedures uninsurable, investigate the industry, and ensure that the next HHS under President Trump conducts a full systematic review of the evidence,” she said.
The judge’s order paused sections of two executive orders: “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” which was signed Jan. 28, and “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth,” signed Jan. 20.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.