Trump Administration's Policies Target Transgender Healthcare and Recognition
Robert F Kennedy Jr. announced a plan to block gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender youth, portraying puberty blockers, hormones, and rare surgeries as harmful. Hospitals providing transgender care to minors would face loss of federal funding, including Medicaid, under Kennedy's proposals.
The FDA issued warning letters to about a dozen purveyors of chest binders and related products for not registering as medical devices; companies cited include ShapeShifter Apparel, GenderBender LLC, and TomboyX. The article also notes that Kennedy appointed Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and David Geier to oversee autism and vaccine research, criticizing these appointments for promoting unproven or debunked treatments.
An executive order signed by the Trump administration requires federal recognition of only two immutable sexes and mandates alignment of identity documents with that definition. Additionally, a House bill proposes to make providing transgender care a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The author argues that the administration is attempting to legislate and regulate transgender and nonbinary people out of existence, which may drive affected individuals underground but will not erase their existence. The piece warns that such measures might lead people to seek hormones and surgeries through black markets or unlicensed providers, placing their health and safety at risk.
