Trump issues executive order to ban gender-affirming care for minors
Today (28 January) Donald Trump signed an executive order titled ‘Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation’.
The order bans so-called ‘chemical and surgical mutilation’ for under-19s: a term which is used throughout the document to describe gender-affirming care by way of hormone therapy (such as puberty blockers and ‘cross-sex hormones’) and surgeries (such as top surgery or bottom surgery).
Specifically, it states: “it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called “transition” of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.” The order follows a suite of state-level bans on gender-affirming care for minors, with 26 states having passed laws restricting its provision by December 2024.
Indeed, gender-affirming care for youth is a popular culture wars topic and the wording of Trump’s order plays into this – making reference to “countless children” accessing this care and referring to the care itself as “destructive and life-altering procedures” and “irreversible medical interventions”.
