President Trump signed an executive order that seeks to end gender-affirming medical treatments for children and teenagers under the age of 19.
The directive, signed Tuesday, was the latest step the Trump administration has taken that examines social protections for the transgender community. On Monday, Trump signed an executive order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military. On his first day in office last week, Trump signed an order recognizing two sexes, male and female, and taking aim at what the order described as gender ideology extremism.
Tuesday’s order says the federal government will not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” gender-affirming care for children, as the president claims it leaves them with costly medical bills and regret as they get older, since the procedures may affect their ability to conceive.
The medical care the president is referring to includes the use of puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries.
Some coverage for pediatric gender-affirming care will be excluded from Medicaid, Medicare and benefits packages for federal and U.S. Postal Service employees.
Trump also condemned health care workers performing the procedures and said, “This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.”
Additionally, Trump is axing or changing any laws that rely on guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Institutions that receive federal research and education grants must stop providing gender-affirming care for children.
Though the order primarily focuses on pediatric gender-affirming care, Trump has instructed the federal and states’ attorneys general to collaborate on enforcing laws more broadly that are “against female genital mutilation across all American States and Territories.”
The secretary of Health and Human Services has 90 days to evaluate research about how to best help children experiencing discomfort with the gender assigned to them at birth.
Agency leaders have 60 days to submit progress reports in relation to the order.
