In a major victory for transgender youth and their families, a federal judge in Maryland has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive orders that sought to strip away access to gender-affirming medical care for minors.
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The ruling, issued Thursday in Baltimore by U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson, halts enforcement of the ban nationwide, preventing the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from hospitals and providers that offer gender-affirming care to patients under 19. The decision comes after weeks of chaos and fear triggered by Trump’s orders, which led hospitals across the country to suspend care for trans youth, leaving thousands in limbo.
Related: Lawsuit challenges Trump’s executive order targeting gender-affirming care
The lawsuit, filed by Lambda Legal, PFLAG, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maryland, and law firms Jenner & Block and Hogan Lovells, challenged the administration’s attempt to politicize and weaponize health care against transgender people. The court agreed, finding that the orders are likely unconstitutional and that Trump cannot impose such sweeping restrictions on medical providers.
Brian K. Bond, CEO of PFLAG National, one of the plaintiffs in the case, called the ruling a moment of justice for families who had been forced to fight for their children’s basic medical care.
“Good and decent parents of transgender kids should never be in the frightening position of having their child’s prescribed, medically necessary care canceled at the whim and threat of a politician,” Bond said in a statement. “But that’s exactly what President Trump’s executive order did to PFLAG families with trans youth and young adults nationwide. Today’s decision rights a grievous wrong to our nation’s families and children, and PFLAG families will be vigilant to ensure our transgender loved ones receive the healthcare they need—as this legal ruling demands.”
The harm inflicted by Trump’s January 28 executive order, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” was immediate. The order barred federal funds from supporting gender-affirming care and forced hospitals and clinics to suspend treatment to avoid potential funding cuts.
Related: Major Virginia medical center stops gender-affirming care for minors after Trump’s executive order
In the week following the order, hospitals in Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, Colorado, and Virginia abruptly canceled appointments, leaving young trans patients without the care they rely on. Some of these patients had been on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for years, and the sudden cutoffs left families scrambling for alternatives that simply didn’t exist.
The Trump administration framed the order as protecting children, but transgender advocates and medical professionals swiftly condemned it as nothing more than a politically motivated attack on the most vulnerable.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, slammed Trump’s efforts to override medical experts and enforce discrimination through executive fiat.
“The president’s orders sought to take away from transgender young people the very care that they, their families, and their medical providers all agree is best for them—medical care that is evidence-based and well-established,” he said in a statement. “But these decisions are for patients, their families, and their doctors to make, not for politicians or Washington bureaucrats.”
Gonzalez-Pagan added, “As today’s decision makes clear, the president does not have the power to unilaterally condition federal funding by requiring discrimination. To the contrary, our laws and Constitution forbid it.”
Hurson’s ruling is more than just a legal victory—it’s a lifeline for transgender youth who rely on gender-affirming care for their mental and physical well-being.
For Alex Sheldon, executive director of GLMA, the decision was a necessary rebuke to the Trump administration’s relentless campaign against trans lives.
Related: Trump signs executive order banning federal support of gender-affirming care for anyone under 19
“Forcing providers to withhold medically necessary, evidence-based care not only threatens patient health and well-being, but also undermines the integrity of our healthcare system in its entirety,” Sheldon said in a statement. “Today’s intervention by the court underscores the cruelty and recklessness that is embedded in this order and affirms our commitment to resist the administration’s extremist agenda that targets trans and non-binary young people and privileges political ideology over medical expertise.”
Senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project Joshua Block emphasized that the ruling should send a clear message to hospitals and clinics that they do not need to fear repercussions for providing life-saving care to transgender youth.
“Across the country, this unlawful order from the president has sown fear among transgender youth and confusion among their providers,” Block said in a statement. “But today’s decision should restore both their access to healthcare and protections under the Constitution. Providers who’ve suspended healthcare for their transgender patients should be left with no doubt that they can lift those suspensions and continue to provide healthcare and act in their best medical judgment without risking their funding or worse.”
While the ruling is a critical victory, it does not mark the end of the fight. Trump’s executive orders have set off a wave of legal challenges, with Democratic attorneys general in Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota set to argue in a Seattle court on Friday.
Dana Vickers Shelley, executive director of the ACLU of Maryland, vowed that advocates would not rest until every transgender person can access the care they need without fear of government interference.
“We are relieved that the courts have recognized the damage caused by the President’s unlawful executive order,” Shelley said. “This decision puts the president on notice that the ACLU of Maryland and our coalition partners will not rest while the Constitution is under siege.”
