19 States and DC Are Suing to Protect Gender-Affirming Care for Youth

"The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oregon, claims that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. exceeded his authority with the Dec. 18 declaration, which would "effectively ban, by fiat, an entire caregory of healthcare." It also failed to follow proper procedures for promulgating new rules, would interfere with states' rights to run their Medicaid programs and regulate health care and deny care to youth that need it."

""Healthcare decisions should be made by doctors and patients - not by politicians in Washington threatening to destroy providers' careers and spreading fear among transgender youth and their families," Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement late Tuesday night. "This isn't just about following the law - though HHS is clearly violating it. This is about protecting vulnerable young people who deserve the same dignity, respect, and access to medical care as anyone else," Brown's statement said."

"For many of the 20 Democrat-led jurisdictions on Tuesday's lawsuit, like Maryland, it was the second day in a row they had gone to an Oregon federal court to challenge Trump administration policy: A total of 22 jurisdictions sued Monday in an attempt to block the administration's attempt to defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."

Maryland joined 18 states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon challenging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Dec. 18 declaration that would bar health care facilities offering gender-affirming care to minors from Medicare and Medicaid. The legal filing asserts the declaration exceeded HHS authority, failed to follow required rulemaking procedures, would intrude on states' rights to administer Medicaid and regulate health care, and would deny necessary care to transgender youth. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown emphasized that medical decisions belong to doctors and patients and highlighted the need to protect vulnerable young people.

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