PFLAG National and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, along with several transgender young adults and families with transgender youth, today (Tuesday, Feb. 4) filed a joint lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s recent executive order attempting to shut down access to necessary medical care for transgender people under 19 nationwide.
Trump’s executive order directs federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that offer gender-affirming medical treatments such as puberty suppressants and hormone therapies to anyone under 19, threatening to shut down access to essential health care that is already out-of-reach for many, plaintiffs say. If enforced, plaintiffs said, the order would deny critical federal funds to hospitals, clinics, doctors and other providers, leading some provider networks to prematurely cancel appointments with transgender youth and announce they are ceasing care altogether.
Kristen Chapman of Richmond, Va., mother to 17-year-old plaintiff Willow, said, “When the Tennessee Legislature passed a law that banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, I knew we had to leave the state so that my daughter could continue receiving the care she needs. We moved to Virginia in the summer of 2023, but struggled to find a provider that would accept our Medicaid insurance.
“As paying for her care out-of-pocket became prohibitively expensive, I tried for months to get an appointment at VCU, and I finally got an appointment for Jan. 29, 2025,” Chapman continued. “The day before our appointment, President Trump signed the executive order at issue in this case. The next day, just a few hours before our appointment, VCU told us they would not be able to provide Willow with care.
“I thought Virginia would be a safe place for me and my daughter,” she said. “Instead, I am heartbroken, tired and scared.”
Today’s lawsuit was filed by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of
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