Doctors and a group of families with transgender children filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order that halts federal funding for entities that aid in transgender procedures for anyone under the age of 19.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, argues that Trump’s directive—issued last week—has led hospitals nationwide to abruptly cancel appointments and deny transgender procedures for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The plaintiffs include the advocacy group PFLAG, the medical association GLMA, and multiple families affected by the policy.
The legal challenge comes in response to Trump’s “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” executive order, which mandates that federal agencies “immediately take appropriate steps” to end financial support for institutions that provide transition-related treatments to minors. The lawsuit argues that the order is unconstitutional, as it unilaterally cuts off federal funding that was lawfully appropriated by Congress.
“This sudden shut-down in care was the direct and immediate result” of Trump’s order, the lawsuit states, emphasizing that hospitals have canceled appointments due to fear of losing federal funding. The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal.
Kristen Chapman, one of the plaintiffs, said she moved from Tennessee to Virginia in 2023 to ensure her 17-year-old transgender child, Willow, could continue receiving services through Medicaid. However, a medical provider canceled an appointment just hours before it was set to take place.
“I thought Virginia would be a safe place for me and my daughter,” Chapman said in a statement. “Instead, I am heartbroken, tired, and scared.”
The ACLU and Lambda Legal petition states the plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to block enforcement of the order.
The lawsuit argues that Trump’s order violates the constitutional separation of powers by imposing conditions on federal funding without congressional approval. It also claims the directive amounts to sex-based discrimination, as it blocks doctors from providing transgender treatments for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria that plaintiffs say remain available for non-transgender patients.
Trump has defended his policy, asserting in the order that “medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex.”
Medical organizations, including GLMA, counter that transition-related treatments follow established standards of care.
“Now, an extreme political agenda is trying to overrule that expertise, putting young people and their providers in danger,” said GLMA Executive Director Alex Sheldon in a statement.
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Trump’s directive marks a sharp shift from the Biden administration, which had sought to expand coverage for transgender procedures during his term. Trump has also issued executive orders limiting transgender military service, restricting federal funding for education programs related to gender identity, and redefining sex as unchangeable in federal law, some of which have also faced lawsuits in recent days.
The legal battle over transgender healthcare is unfolding as the Supreme Court weighs a separate case, United States v. Skrmetti, which challenges Tennessee’s law banning medical treatments for minors with gender dysphoria. The justices heard arguments last year but have yet to issue a ruling, meaning the outcome could have significant implications for the ongoing litigation against Trump’s executive order.
