An Oregon judge said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. overstepped when he overruled state governments and declared gender-affirming care for minors unsafe nationwide.
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U.S. District Court Judge Mustafa Kasubhai said in a hearing that he will vacate a declaration issued by the Trump administration in December. That document declared “sex-rejecting procedures for children and adolescents are neither safe nor effective,” and said any gender-affirming treatment, whether surgical or pharmaceutical, should not take place in any state.
The HHS declaration triggered a multistate lawsuit led by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat. In their complaint, the states argued the directive was not grounded in established medical science and represented an attempt to coerce providers by threatening federal funding and regulatory consequences.
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According to the complaint, the administration’s action bypassed standard rulemaking procedures and contradicted the consensus of major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, which recognize gender-affirming care as evidence-based and, in many cases, medically necessary. The states also argued the declaration would have a chilling effect on providers, forcing hospitals and clinicians to choose between following accepted standards of care and risking federal retaliation.
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Kasubhai ruled on Thursday that Kennedy reached beyond his authority by stating any medical professionals offering gender-affirming care “health and safety of children with gender dysphoria,” according to Politico.
The judge has not issued a written ruling yet. Kasubhai was appointed to the bench by President Joe Biden.
The Department of Justice had argued, according to prior reporting, that Kennedy’s declaration was only a statement of the administration’s views and did not itself enforce a law. But the plaintiff states said the document carried real consequences by threatening to chill care and pressure providers into abandoning transgender patients, according to Stat.
LGBTQ+ advocates welcomed the ruling as a rebuke of federal overreach.
“This decision is a win for every family, provider, pro-equality state leader and supporter who refused to back down to this unlawful administration,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told The Advocate in a text message. “Politicians, including RFK Jr., do not get to tell doctors how to do their jobs or families what decisions are best for their children. Health care for transgender people is just that–health care–and that care must continue–full stop.”
Rayfield, in a statement, called the court victory a win for all families.
“The freedom to make personal healthcare decisions — with your family and your doctor — is a fundamental Oregon value,” Rayfield said in a statement. “It’s rooted in our belief that every person deserves dignity, compassion, and care. The court saw through the federal government’s attempt to bully hospitals and providers into abandoning their patients, and ruled on the side of those values.”
