Attorney General Anthony G. Brown of Maryland has joined a multistate lawsuit contesting recent federal actions by the Trump administration that aim to limit transgender, intersex, and nonbinary youths’ access to healthcare, claiming the actions go beyond federal authority and jeopardize legal medical care.
Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a multistate lawsuit opposing the Trump administration’s attempts to deny transgender, intersex, and nonbinary kids access to essential healthcare, according to the news release issued on Friday, August 1. Even in places like Maryland where providing medically acceptable care to individuals under the age of 19 is allowed and protected, the complaint focuses on recent federal efforts intended to discourage physicians from doing so. The lawsuit contends that by pressuring healthcare providers with threats of criminal prosecution and federal probes, the administration is going beyond its bounds. In order to preserve patients’ access to care, the group is requesting that the court stop these acts.
President Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office, announcing that the United States would only recognize two sexes and that federal funding for what he called gender ideology would cease. Shortly after, a second order was signed that limited juvenile access to medically necessary health care. Despite the fact that 18-year-olds are legally considered adults in areas like Maryland, it classified everyone under the age of 19 as a child and categorized accepted medical procedures as chemical and surgical mutilation. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was instructed by the order to take enforcement action against this care.
Since then, DOJ has demanded private patient data, subpoenaed providers, and hinted at the possibility of criminal penalties. The attorneys general contend that these initiatives lack legal foundation and are meant to deter providers from providing state-legally permissible life-saving medical care.
The administration’s strategies are already having an effect, the attorneys general caution. Patients are complaining of missed appointments and uncertainty about their ability to continue receiving care as providers in some jurisdictions have started to cut back or stop offering some services. In addition to preventing additional injury, the lawsuit aims to guarantee that transgender adolescents and their families can get care without facing discrimination from the federal government.
Every significant national medical society and medical professionals concur that medical care is not only essential for many transgender youth, but in certain situations, it can save their lives. It has been demonstrated that delaying this care worsens mental health outcomes, such as elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide thoughts.
According to the coalition, these acts go beyond federal jurisdiction, violate the Constitution, and violate state laws requiring equal access to healthcare. Laws in Maryland prohibit discrimination against patients on the basis of gender identity, and medical professionals must treat every patient equally and impartially. The complaint requests that the court halt the administration’s activities and prevent these executive orders from being enforced.
The attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin, along with the governor of Pennsylvania, are joining Attorney General Brown in this lawsuit.
Maryland Attorney General’s website
