Judge says the order aimed for “erasure of trans individuals”
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield applauds a judge’s decision today to block the Trump administration from withholding federal funding from medical institutions that provide gender affirming care.
“Today’s ruling is a major win in the fight against Trump’s relentless attacks on transgender rights,” said Rayfield. “We will not stand by while our most vulnerable populations are stripped of their basic rights.”
The temporary restraining order lasts for 14 days and applies nationwide – meaning all medical institutions can’t have their federal funding pulled because they provide gender-affirming care services.
“It blatantly discriminated against trans youth” and will likely “not survive constitutional scrutiny,” said U.S. District Judge Lauren King at today’s hearing.
AG Rayfield, along with the attorneys general of Washington and Minnesota, and three doctors who provide youth gender medicine filed the suit. They argued that Trump’s order to end this funding violates the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantees to trans patients.
“It’s hard to believe that anyone, especially in a position of power, would try to make it harder for people to get life-saving care just because of their gender identity,” said Rayfield. “Thankfully, today’s ruling stops that, and we can continue to fight for the dignity and rights of everyone, no matter who they are.”
