Trump Executive Order Looks to Restrict Transgender Care for Children Under 19
- January 31, 2025
President Trump signed January 28 a broad executive order to end federal funding or support for gender-affirming care in children under age 19.
“[I]t 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.
The order, which encompasses surgical procedures as well as the use of puberty blockers and sex hormones, also indicates that medical schools and hospitals could risk their federal research or grant funds if they provide those services.
Lambda Legal vowed to oppose the order. “With today’s announcement the Trump administration seeks to target and discriminate towards some of the most vulnerable: transgender youth. In seeking to deny transgender youth the medically sound and well-established health care that they need, this administration could put thousands of vulnerable young lives at risk,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Senior Counsel and Health Care Strategist for Lambda Legal, in a statement.