US judge blocks Donald Trump’s order to cut funding for transgender youth care
Trump’s order cuts research and education grants for institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, offering gender-affirming care to those under 19.
A federal judge in Seattle has ruled to keep blocking President Donald Trump’s plan to cut federal funding for institutions providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
US district court judge Lauren King had earlier issued a two-week restraining order after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota challenged the policy.
After hearing arguments on Friday, King issued a preliminary injunction blocking most of Trump’s plan, extending restrictions beyond her earlier temporary order.
King rejected part of the states' challenge related to protections against female genital mutilation, saying there was “no credible threat of prosecution” in such cases.
The case involves two executive orders issued by Donald Trump.
The first, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism,” seeks to withdraw federal funding from programmes that “promote gender ideology.”
The second, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” directs the federal government to cut research and education grants for institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, that offer gender-affirming care to those under 19.
Following the order, several hospitals across the country stopped providing treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
Medicaid programmes in some states cover gender-affirming care, but Trump’s “Protecting Children” order suggests that could change. It also raises the possibility of criminal charges against medical professionals under a law banning medically unnecessary genital mutilation of underage females—a move the states suing Trump have called “repugnant and legally unsupportable.”
Young people with gender dysphoria, a condition where their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth, face a higher risk of severe depression and suicide without treatment. Care can involve medical evaluation, social transition—such as changing hairstyle or pronouns—and, in some cases, puberty blockers or hormones. Surgery for minors remains extremely rare.
In her ruling on Friday, the judge noted that the order was not restricted to children or irreversible treatments and did not apply to medical procedures for cisgender children.
“In fact, its inadequate ‘means-end fit’ would prevent federally funded medical providers from providing necessary medical treatments to transgender youth that are completely unrelated to gender identity,” she wrote. “For example, a cisgender teen could obtain puberty blockers from such a provider as a component of cancer treatment, but a transgender teen with the same cancer care plan could not.”
With AP inputs
