Washington Joins 18 Other States In Federal Lawsuit Over Gender-Affirming Care

Washington's Nick Brown is joining a coalition of 17 other state attorneys general and one governor in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) over its recent declaration to curtail access to gender-affirming care for minors.

In a statement released by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General on Wednesday, Brown described the declaration as baseless and unlawful and added that U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy has falsely claimed that "certain forms of gender-affirming care are 'unsafe and ineffective' and threatens to punish doctors, hospitals, and clinics that continue to provide it with exclusion from the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs."

The declaration was issued by HHS on Dec. 18 and describes certain medical interventions such as hormone therapy and puberty-blocking drugs as being dangerous and ineffectual for young people who are experiencing gender dysphoria - a condition which can occur when the dispositions of someone's gender do not align with their assigned sex at birth.

It goes on to threaten exclusions from Medicare and Medicaid subsidies for doctors who continue to administer gender-affirming treatments for minors, something Brown and the lawsuit's other plaintiffs say is in violation of current federal statutes and subverts the ability of states to govern medical practices in their own way.

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“The law does not change on one man’s whim, and this care remains legal under federal and state law. The administration is stigmatizing young people and unlawfully trying to rob them of care that is lifesaving in some instances,” says Brown. “This action is as cruel and unnecessary as it is illegal, but consistent with an administration that puts politics above health.”

The lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore., contends the declaration is designed to intimidate medical practitioners from providing gender-affirming care and also circumvents the mandatory legal process for any policy changes; specifically by not providing any notice of intent nor any period for public comment.

HHS claims the declaration is based on conclusions it established from a peer-reviewed report it conducted earlier this year which recommended the use of behavioral health therapies over what have become more traditional gender-affirming interventions for minors experiencing gender dysphoria.

Many major medical organizations have disavowed the report and described it as being erroneous, while others, including the American Medical Association, remain staunchly opposed to the implementation of any government restrictions on gender-affirming care for young people.

Although the declaration's proposals are not yet legally binding and must go through a rigorous process before becoming so, they are expected to continue furthering a trend of medical providers who have stopped offering gender-affirming care for minors - something which has already happened since Donald Trump returned to office earlier this year.

Nearly 6,000 providers offer gender-affirming care in Washington, where it remains protected under state law, unlike 27 other states where laws banning gender-affirming care have now been adopted.

The 18 other states joining Washington in the suit are California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Illinois; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; New Jersey; New Mexico; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Vermont; Wisconsin; and the District of Columbia.