Trump Signs Executive Order Restricting Gender Transition for Minors
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order restricting gender transition procedures for individuals under 19. This decision marks his latest move against the transgender community since returning to power.
The announcement comes a week after his inauguration speech, where he declared that his administration would recognize only two genders: male and female.
In his order, Trump criticized gender-affirming treatments for minors, stating: « Across the country today, doctors are mutilating and sterilizing a growing number of easily influenced children. This dangerous trend will be a stain on our nation’s history and must end. »
He added that his administration « will not fund, endorse, promote, assist, or support the so-called transition of a child from one gender to another. » The policy bans chemical castration, genital surgery, puberty blockers, and gender reassignment surgeries.
The order further mandates strict enforcement of all laws restricting or prohibiting these life-altering procedures. Trump also directed the termination of federal funding for such treatments under Medicaid (for low-income families), Medicare (for retirees), and the Pentagon’s health insurance, which covers nearly two million children.
He vowed to work with Congress to allow children and their parents to sue doctors who performed gender transition procedures on minors.
Currently, more than 20 Republican-led states have already enacted laws restricting medical care for transgender minors.
The issue remains contentious, with the Supreme Court debating in December a Tennessee law banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for individuals under 18.
