Trump signs order cutting federal support for gender transitions under 19

The order would ensure that gender-affirming care for individuals below 19 would be excluded from coverage under federally-run insurance schemes

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order that called for cutting off all federal support for gender transitions for people under the age of 19, reported news agency AP.

Donald Trump's executive order cuts federal funding for gender transitions for those under 19 (AP)

The order states, "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.

The order also uses harsh words to describe such care, referring to it as “maiming,” “sterilizing” and “mutilation” to describe gender affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormones or at times surgery.

The order would ensure that gender-affirming care for individuals below 19 would be excluded from coverage under federally-run insurance schemes such as TRICare for military families and Medicaid.

Medicaid programs in certain states which cover gender-affirming care would be forced to end the practice. The hospitals and universities that do provide such care would also be targeted as they receive federal funding. Trump's order empowers the Department of Justice to pursue legal action and legislation to challenge the practice.

The executive order has labelled guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health as “junk science" despite major medical groups such as the American Medical Association supporting access to gender affirming care.

“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 said, as quoted by AP.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson also issued a statement, saying that it was “deeply unfair” that politics were being used to deprive young transgender people of healthcare.

“This executive order is a brazen attempt to put politicians in between people and their doctors, preventing them from accessing evidence-based health care supported by every major medical association in the country,” said Robinson.

Trump's other orders on gender

Since Donald Trump began his second term as President, he has worked towards reversing policies protecting transgender people put in place during the Biden administration, in line with his campaign promises.

Merely hours after taking office, Trump issued an order that seeks to define sex as only male or female, not recognizing transgender, nonbinary or intersex people. The order has resulted in the State Department halting issuing passports with an “X” gender markers.

On Monday, he issued an order that would effectively ban transgender people from being part of the US military. The order banned “transgender ideology” and claimed that troops who identify as a gender other than their biological one “conflict with a soldier’s commitment to an honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”