NYC Mayor Eric Adams Signs Order Protecting Gender-Affirming Care

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has issued an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming health care in the city.

The order comes after 20 states have passed laws banning some or all of the care for transgender minors.

Executive Order 32 protects gender-affirming care in the city and prevents city resources from being used against those seeking it. The order additionally helps those seeking care outside of where they live. City resources will not be used against someone going to the city to receive gender-affirming care that would be restricted in their home state.

“As states across the nation continue their onslaught of attacks on our LGBTQ+ neighbors, New York City is doing what we have always done — standing up for justice and against discrimination,” Adams said in a release. “This executive order reaffirms the fact that hate has no place in our city and that all people deserve the right to gender-affirming care and protection against prosecution for being who they are. To LGBTQ+ people across the nation feeling hurt, isolated, or threatened, we have a clear message for you: New York City has and will always be a welcoming home for you.”

Adams's announcement comes shortly after the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency across the U.S. over the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, mostly targeting trans people.

“As LGBTQ+ people nationwide find themselves under attack for receiving the care they need, New York City is leading the nation to show what must be done,” added First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “I applaud this administration for using the power of government to stand up and do what’s right by protecting rights that are under attack. Our city’s history is rooted in the Stonewall Inn and the founding of the modern LGBTQ+ movement. With today’s announcement, we are telling the nation that we have not forgotten our past and will continue to fight for the future.”

“Human rights and public health go hand in hand,” New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in the release. “Pride is a time to honor the legacy of the LGBTQ+ community’s fight for justice, and nowhere is this fight clearer than in access to lifesaving and life-affirming health care. It is also a time to advance the rights of the community and make even more history. This order does just that and ensures New York City is on the right side of this important history, continuing its commitment to providing high-quality, equitable health care to all.”

Eleven states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that are similar to Adams’s executive order in protecting those who seek gender-affirming care against out-of-state actions, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

Last month, Kansas City, Mo., passed a resolution declaring itself a safe haven for transgender people seeking gender-affirming care.