President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday aiming to restrict gender transition surgeries for those under the age of 19.

The executive order requires medical institutions that receive federal funding to end “the chemical and surgical mutilation of children” such as the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapies and surgeries.

“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 order says.

Most hospitals take federal funding in one form or another.

The order also says that federally-funded insurance carriers such as Medicaid for the poor, and TRICARE for military members and their families, stop coverage of such care.

It calls on the Justice Department to “prioritize enforcement of protections against female genital mutilation” and work with Congress to pursue legislation to “enact a private right of action for children and the parents of children whose healthy body parts have been damaged by medical professionals practicing chemical and surgical mutilation, which should include a lengthy statute of limitations.”

It also says within 60 days, the heads of agencies shall provide a report to the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy “detailing progress in implementing this order and a timeline for future action.”

Kelley Robinson, president of the pro-LGBTQ Human Rights Campaign, called the order “a brazen attempt to put politicians in between people and their doctors, preventing them from accessing evidence-based healthcare supported by every major medical association in the country.”

Practitioners of what they call gender-affirming care also decried the order.

“Parents and families should be free to make medical decisions informed by their doctors and the available science without the interference of politics,” an American Academy of Pediatrics spokesperson told the Associated Press.

The American Medical Association and other U.S. groups support minors’ access to gender-affirming care, though the practice has been increasingly less popular in Europe.

National health services in Britain, Sweden and elsewhere have withdrawn their support for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors, citing both the little impact they have on the psychological health of transgender youth and the long-known fact that most minors experiencing gender dysphoria grow out of it as adults.

This is just one action Mr. Trump has taken to undo policies that former President Biden established for transgender people.

Aside from Tuesday’s order, Mr. Trump also signed an executive order on his first day defining that federal law will recognize only two sexes — male and female.

He also issued an order banning transgender troops from serving in the military.

The ban would follow the lead of more than 20 states that have passed laws restricting or banning gender reassignment surgery or related hormonal treatments for minors.

One of those laws is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in December in United States v. Skrmetti, a challenge to Tennessee’s ban.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.