One of the first executive orders signed by President Donald Trump prohibits gender-related surgeries for people under the age of 19. It also states the country will not "fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another."
In the order, Trump called it a "dangerous trend" that causes lifelong medical complications and regret. Despite this, state Attorney General Letitia James recently reiterated to health care providers in New York that they have "an obligation" to provide gender-affirming care to minors.
James doubled down on her efforts to protect access to gender-affirming care for minors by joining a coalition of 13 attorneys general in denouncing orders coming from The White House.
New York policymakers, in many ways, have been successful in supporting the state’s transgender community. Gender-affirming care, for example, is offered and protected by various anti-discrimination laws.
But with a stroke of his pen, Trump cast doubt over some of those assurances. Among a flurry of executive orders is one that curtails federal funding for gender-affirming care, specifically for people under 19.
“There is much controversy and discussion on a state level about to what degree medical providers and hospitals can reasonably, legally and ethically comply,” said Angie Wootton, an assistant professor of social welfare and affiliated faculty of women, gender and sexuality studies at the University at Albany.
In a letter sent to medical facilities across the state Monday, James highlighted a recent court order prohibiting the federal government from pausing, freezing or cancelling funding to providers that do not comply with the president’s executive order.
“We contribute to the GDP, we pay our taxes, we build businesses, we build families, we make this country what it is, we are part of the fabric of America,” said one advocate during a rally at the New York State Capitol Wednesday. “Please do not let it fray at the edges.”
James also reminded medical professionals that not providing such care would violate state law.
“New York is coming in with a bit of a precedent in terms of being on the forefront of providing access,” Wootton said.
Some of the language used in the executive order includes words like “maiming,” “sterilizing” and “mutilation.” This, despite experts saying those terms are unrelated to most treatment in the U.S., and new research that suggests fewer than one in every 1,000 adolescents receive gender-affirming care. The data was published earlier this month in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.
“A lot of the medical procedures, the puberty blockers and hormone therapies that are under attack are ones that have been well established within medical literature, have been used for decades with a variety of people both cisgender and transgender,” Wooton said.
Meanwhile, leaders with the Healthcare Association of New York State say they’re evaluating communication from federal and state officials.
President Bea Grause said, in part, “Preserving patients' access to care is and will always be our hospitals' top priority. Hospitals must also comply with federal and state law to receive government funds that are essential to preserving patient access.”