President-elect Donald Trump has outlined his plans to curtail 'gender-affirming' care for minors in the United States. In a video posted on Truth Social in February 2023, Trump expressed his intention to issue an executive order directing federal agencies to cease programs supporting sex changes at any age. He also proposed legislation to prohibit child sexual mutilation nationwide.
Trump further announced his plans to exclude hospitals and healthcare providers offering gender-transition treatments for minors from participating in Medicaid and Medicare. He vowed to support legal actions against doctors performing such procedures on minors and investigate pharmaceutical companies and hospital networks for potential cover-ups of long-term side effects of sex transitions.
During his campaign, Trump emphasized transgender issues, particularly targeting Vice President Kamala Harris for her support of sex change procedures for incarcerated individuals in California. His campaign ad highlighting these issues was credited with influencing swing voters.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, expanded access to surgical procedures for minors by interpreting 'sex discrimination' under the Affordable Care Act to include gender identity and sexual orientation. However, the Supreme Court blocked this regulation in August.
The Biden administration successfully urged the World Professional Association for Transgender Health to remove age limits from its guidelines for transgender surgical procedures for adolescents, as revealed in court documents. While over 25 states have imposed bans and restrictions on surgical procedures and hormonal prescriptions for transgender youth, roughly 24 states still allow gender transition surgeries and drugs for children.
Trump has been expediting his administration's appointments, with potential candidates for the Department of Health and Human Services including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and others. Sources have reached out to the Trump-Vance transition team for further comments on these developments.
