HHS Issues Statements in Support of Executive Orders Against Gender-Affirming Care

The HHS has taken action to support President Trump’s executive orders restricting access to gender-affirming care in children.

HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has “rescinded prior Administration guidance entitled ‘HHS Notice and Guidance on Gender Affirming Care, Civil Rights, and Patient Privacy,’ issued March 2, 2022.” The rescission is in keeping with Executive Order 14187, instructing federal agencies to not promote, assist, or support gender-affirming care in minors.

The OCR’s acting director, Anthony Archeval, said that the rescission is a “significant step to align civil rights and health information privacy enforcement with a core Administration policy that recognizes that there are only two sexes: male and female.”

The American Medical Association passed a “resolution drafted by The Endocrine Society [in 2023] to protect access to evidence-based care for transgender and gender-diverse youth, noting ‘it is the responsibility of the medical community to speak out in support of evidence-based care. Medical decisions should be made by patients, their relatives and health care providers, not politicians.’”

More recently, in the wake of the President’s executive orders, Attorneys General in 17 states have “publicly responded to the Executive Order. 15 have stated that they oppose the Executive Order in a coalition led by the Massachusetts Attorney General. The coalition press release states that the State Attorneys General ‘reaffirm their commitment to protecting access to gender-affirming care’ and that the Executive Order ‘is wrong on the science and the law.’” The ACLU has also filed a lawsuit challenging the executive order in federal court.

HPN has previously covered Trump’s executive orders and the legal actions being taken against them.