US federal judge blocks declaration excluding gender-affirming healthcare providers from federal funds News
Joe Gratz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
US federal judge blocks declaration excluding gender-affirming healthcare providers from federal funds

A US federal district judge said in a hearing on Thursday that he would bar Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK) from enforcing a declaration issued last December that condemned “sex-rejecting procedures” on children and adolescents.

Judge Mustafa Kasubhai of the US District Court for the District of Oregon stated that he would grant summary judgment to the plaintiffs. He said that a formal opinion will be issued soon but requested that both sides provide briefs addressing the plaintiffs’ requested relief—exactly how the declaration is to be halted going forward.

The December declaration stated, “Sex-rejecting procedures for children and adolescents are neither safe nor effective as a treatment modality for gender dysphoria, gender incongruence, or other related disorders in minors, and therefore, fail to meet professional recognized standards of health care.”

RFK promulgated the declaration to exclude certain healthcare providers from participating in federal health care programs like Medicare or Medicaid if he has found that they “furnished … items or services to patients of a quality which fails to meet professionally recognized standards of health care” under 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(b)(6)(B). The declaration stated that the current medical and clinical guidance regarding gender-affirming care is unclear, inconsistent, and political.

A group of states sued RFK and other Department of Health and Human Services officials, alleging that the declaration violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and Medicare and Medicaid statutes. Specifically, RFK purportedly bypassed the APA’s notice and comment requirements and “chang[ed] substantive legal standards by executive fiat.” Additionally, 42 U.S.C. § 1395hh(a)(2) mandates that any substantive change in legal standard must undergo notice and comment rule-making. The plaintiffs also argued that the declaration inappropriately encroached on states’ police powers to regulate the medical professions and healthcare within their jurisdictions.

In a press release, New York State Attorney General Letitia James applauded the decision on Thursday, stating:

So much of the conversation around transgender health care has lost sight of the real people harmed by the federal government’s attacks. Young people are losing access to life-saving treatment, families are being left in the dark, and medical providers are being threatened just for doing their jobs and following standards of care. Today’s win breaks through the noise and gives some needed clarity to patients, families, and providers.

The decision is among an ongoing hazy legal atmosphere surrounding gender-affirming care, which the US Supreme Court recently held states can legally ban for minors.

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