Washington to win summary judgment protecting health care for transgender youth

# Federal Court Rules for States in Transgender Youth Healthcare Case

A federal judge ruled Thursday in favor of Washington and 20 other states plus Washington, D.C. in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's attempt to restrict gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai granted the states' motion for summary judgment, with a written order to follow, blocking Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s December declaration that claimed certain gender-affirming treatments are "unsafe and ineffective."

The judge determined that Kennedy exceeded his statutory authority by issuing the declaration without following required rulemaking procedures. The declaration had threatened to exclude healthcare providers from Medicaid and Medicare if they continued providing gender-affirming care to youth with gender dysphoria. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown called the decision "a resounding win for the rights of youth, their families, and the rule of law."

The lawsuit included attorneys general from Oregon, New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin, along with Pennsylvania's governor.