(AP) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors, building on broader Trump administration restrictions on transgender Americans.
The sweeping proposals — the most significant moves this administration has taken so far to restrict the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical interventions for transgender children — include cutting off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children and prohibiting federal Medicaid funding from being used on such procedures.
More than half of U.S. states already ban or restrict gender-affirming care. But Thursday’s announcement imperils access in nearly two dozen states where drug treatments and surgical procedures remain legal and funded by Medicaid, which includes federal and state dollars.
The proposals, set to be announced by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his deputies, are not final or legally binding. The federal government must go through a lengthy rulemaking process, including periods of public comment and document rewrites, before the restrictions become permanent. They are also likely to face legal challenges.
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There is no such thing as “transgender children,” and the term “gender-affirming care” is an oxymoron. If adults want to mutilate their bodies, that is one thing, but children are not wise enough to make such life-altering decisions. The AP does not give a hoot about the children, which is why they use such language — language that is at odds with clearly observable reality. A pox on the AP.