New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the HHS Inspector General.
The suit challenges a recent HHS declaration that seeks to prohibit healthcare providers from offering gender-affirming care, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries to minors experiencing gender dysphoria, under threat of losing access to federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
The declaration, issued last Thursday, deems these treatments unsafe and ineffective for children and adolescents, relying on a peer-reviewed report from earlier this year that emphasizes behavioral therapy over medical interventions.
The coalition argues that this action is unlawful, as it bypasses federal requirements for public notice and comment periods before implementing substantive policy changes.
Furthermore the plaintiffs contend that the declaration inaccurately portrays established medical standards and coercively pressures providers to halt care, potentially endangering transgender youth by limiting access to medically necessary treatments.
"Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online, and no one should lose access to medically necessary health care because their federal government tried to interfere in decisions that belong in doctors' offices," said New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon.f13abd Joining New York in the suit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
This legal action comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to restrict gender affirming care, including an executive order signed in January to cut federal support for such treatments for individuals under 19, and proposed rules to defund hospitals and Medicaid programs that provide them.
Major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, have criticized the HHS report as inaccurate and oppose restrictions on transgender care.
Currently, Medicaid covers gender affirming care in fewer than half of states, while at least 27 states have enacted laws restricting or banning it for minors. The U.S. The Supreme Court recently upheld Tennessee's ban on such treatments for those under 18 in a 6-3 decision.
The coalition seeks to block the declaration's enforcement, ensuring that healthcare decisions remain between patients, families, and medical professionals without undue federal interference.