(The Center Square) – Officials from 14 states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration for restricting access to certain health care procedures for children with gender dysphoria.
One of President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed to eliminate certain transgender medical procedures for youth under the age of 19.
“The Defendants’ actions have had the intended effect of chilling providers from gender-affirming care to individuals under 19 years old – care that is lawful and protected in Plaintiff States,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit filed in federal district court in Massachusetts seeks injunctive relief against the Trump administration. Officials joining the lawsuit are from Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania.
Among those suing is Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. He said they’re not looking to tell health providers what to offer, but merely working to protect their ability to offer what he called “gender affirming care” to youth.
“We are asking the court to block these actions and protect access for patients who desperately need it,” Raoul said during a virtual news conference Friday. “In Illinois, we have made it clear that seeking or providing health care for transgender youth and adults is not only lawful but welcome in our state.”
Asked about what happens if the science on what is considered “gender affirming care” changes, Raoul listed a slew of organizations that recognize what he called “gender affirming care.”
“Who are organizations populated by medical professionals and who rely on science of today and our actions are an action for today and I don’t anticipate that medical science changing,” Raoul said.
Illinois state Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, who is also a medical doctor, said the science is not settled and there are real concerns about lasting and irreversible impacts even with hormone treatments.
“If they did give up the argument then they would be admitting that they’ve done the worst thing that they could possibly do,” Hauter told The Center Square in reaction to the lawsuit Raoul filed against Trump.
Hauter called it “gender denying care” and said Raoul is using taxpayer resources for politics.
“You’re just looking at a strategy the Pritzker administration has to be the anti-Trump,” Hauter said. “Basically, emotionally blackmailing parents telling them would they rather have a dead child that’s a girl or an alive child … who has transitioned into a boy.”
Several Illinois hospitals have recently announced they are limiting the availability of certain medical procedures on children.
“After careful review of recent federal government actions, UI Health has made the following changes to its gender-affirming surgical services. Effective Aug. 1, 2025, UI Health has suspended gender-affirming surgical procedures for patients under age 19,” UI Health said. “Any patient working toward or scheduled for surgery will need to postpone surgery until they reach age 19.”
