Attorney General Neronha and 14 attorneys general issue joint statement on protecting access to gender-affirming care

"Gender-affirming care is essential, life-saving medical treatment that supports individuals in living as their authentic selves."

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha and 14 attorneys general today issued a joint statement to reaffirm their commitment to protecting access to gender-affirming care in response to the Trump Administration’s recent Executive Order. The coalition released the following statement:

“As state attorneys general, we stand firmly in support of healthcare policies that respect the dignity and rights of all people. Health care decisions should be made by patients, families, and doctors, not by a politician trying to use his power to restrict your freedoms. Gender-affirming care is essential, life-saving medical treatment that supports individuals in living as their authentic selves.

“The Trump Administration’s recent Executive Order is wrong on the science and the law. Despite what the Trump Administration has suggested, there is no connection between ‘female genital mutilation’ and gender-affirming care, and no federal law makes gender-affirming care unlawful. President Trump cannot change that by Executive Order.”

“Last week, attorneys general secured a critical win from a federal court that directed the federal government to resume funding that had been frozen by the Trump Administration. In response to the Court’s Order, the Department of Justice has sent a notice stating that ‘federal agencies cannot pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate any awards or obligations on the basis of the OMB memo, or on the basis of the President’s recently issued Executive Orders.’ This means that federal funding to institutions that provide gender-affirming care continues to be available, irrespective of President Trump’s recent Executive Order. If the federal administration takes additional action to impede this critical funding, we will not hesitate to take further legal action.

“State attorneys general will continue to enforce State laws that provide access to gender-affirming care in states where such enforcement authority exists, and we will challenge any unlawful effort by the Trump Administration to restrict access to it in our jurisdictions.”

Attorney General Neronha is joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Vermont, and Wisconsin in issuing this statement.