Transgender care for minors is under assault nationwide. (Photo:
The Trump administration’s draconian assault on reproductive and gender affirming health care has become the lastest front in a broad legal challenge of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general and the state of Pennsylvania are suing the Trump administration for “illegally targeting” Planned Parenthood because of its stance on abortion.
In a separate action, a coalition of 15 states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump administration for attacking access to gender-affirming health care for transgender and nonbinary youth.
James and the coalition are challenging what they claim is a “coordinated federal campaign” to intimidate health care providers into halting medically necessary treatment for transgender individuals under age 19, even in states where such care is legal and protected by state law, such as New York.
“The federal government is once again playing politics with our health care system, with devastating consequences,” said James said in a statement.
Supporters rally for Planned Parenthood. (Photo: S. MiRK)
The Trump legislation, signed into law on July 4, prohibits non-profit health care clinics from receiving Medicaid funding, if they provide abortions – criteria that almost exclusively applies to Planned Parenthood clinics.
“The government’s intent is clear: to defund Planned Parenthood and silence its advocacy,” the coalition charges.
The organization, however, provides a range of other health services, many in low-income communities. They will be left without such services as cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and family planning services.
The coalition argues in its lawsuit that the new restriction is unconstitutional, retaliatory, and deeply harmful to public health.
“It violates the First Amendment by retaliating against Planned Parenthood for its protected speech and advocacy; violates the Spending Clause by forcing states to implement a vague, unrelated and coercive federal policy without clear notice, and violates the Constitution’s ban on bills of attainder by singling out a group for punishment without due process,” the group charges.
In 2023 alone, 89,000 New Yorkers enrolled in Medicaid received care at Planned Parenthood clinics, which provided tens of thousands of STI tests, cancer screenings, and contraceptive services.
The attorneys general have asked the court to declare the defunding provision unconstitutional and halting its implementation.
“New York will not be bullied into enforcing this unconstitutional attack on health care and reproductive freedom,” James states.
In the separate action, the attorneys general argue that the administration is unlawfully seeking to impose a nationwide ban on gender-affirming care by threatening providers with baseless criminal charges and investigations.
They are asking the court to halt this “unconstitutional pressure campaign and ensure transgender youth can continue to access legally protected health care without fear.”
“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,” said James.
The lawsuit targets a executive order signed by Trump on his first day in office. It declares that the United States would only recognize two sexes and seeking to eliminate all federal support for what it calls “gender ideology.”
Nationwide, 23 states have banned or severely limited treatment to align a young person’s body with their gender identity.
But more than 20 U.S. medical groups support minors’ access to GAC, and many, including the Association of American Medical Colleges, have joined amicus briefs opposing the restrictions.
A second executive order signed days later expanded the administration’s focus on eliminating gender-affirming care for youth and young adults, redefining everyone under the age of 19 as “children.”
But in states like New York, 18-year-olds are legal adults with full medical autonomy.
The order also erroneously characterized standard, evidence-based medical care as “chemical and surgical mutilation” and directed the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to prioritize enforcement actions against providers of gender-affirming care nationwide.
In the months since the orders were signed, DOJ has issued guidance threatening criminal prosecution of providers, launched civil and criminal investigations into major hospitals, made broad and illegal demands for private patient data, and issued subpoenas targeting providers across the country.
“These actions are not based in law, as no federal statute prohibits gender-affirming care, and instead are designed to intimidate and suppress care through illegal threats and coercion,” the coalition asserts.
In the complaint, the attorneys general emphasize that medical experts overwhelmingly agree that gender-affirming care is safe, necessary, and in many cases, lifesaving care.
Every major medical association in the United States, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychiatric Association, recognizes gender-affirming care as the appropriate treatment for gender dysphoria.
“Denying access to such care has been shown to significantly increase rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality in transgender youth.”
Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the administration’s campaign of intimidation is already working. Some providers are even scaling back or eliminating services entirely.
In New York, several major health systems reportedly canceled young patients’ gender-affirming care appointments abruptly in the wake of the president’s executive orders, leaving families without care or guidance.
Denying access to that care, the attorneys general warn, will cost lives.
Gender-affirming care is legally protected in all of their states and that federal attempts to block such care represent a blatant assault on state sovereignty in violation of the Tenth Amendment.
Providers face a double-edged sword; either comply with unlawful federal threats or violate state laws that require nondiscriminatory access to medical care.
The executive orders violate the Constitution, exceed the government’s statutory authority, and run afoul of the Administrative Procedure Act. They are asking the court to declare the implementation of the executive orders and associated DOJ directives illegal.
“Transgender and nonbinary youth deserve the freedom to access the health care they need without fear, shame, or government interference,” said Dr. Carla Smith, CEO of The NYC LGBT Community Center.
“The Trump administration’s actions endanger the lives of young people who already face disproportionate rates of depression and suicide.”
“This attack on gender-affirming care is not just a policy dispute—it is a deliberate act of violence against transgender and nonbinary youth and the providers who care for them,” said Tandra R. LaGrone, CEO of In Our Own Voices, Inc. “These federal threats are reckless, cruel, and unconstitutional.”
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