Colorado has joined yet another lawsuit against the Trump administration, this time against a presidential order blocking transgender medical procedures.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser added the state to the lawsuit, one of many Colorado has signed onto in opposition to directives from President Donald Trump.
Others include lawsuits against the federal employee buyout program, DOGE and Elon Musk, and the federal funding freeze.
This lawsuit challenges an executive order signed by Trump on Jan. 28, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.”
“It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the order said.
It includes both puberty blockers and surgical procedures, ending federal funding to any hospitals or medical schools participating in those.
The order states that insurance coverage for those treatments would also be discontinued in federal insurance programs, including Department of Defense plans.
“This dangerous trend will be a stain on our nation’s history, and it must end,” the order said.
Shortly after the order was released, Weiser joined a coalition of attorneys general reaffirming “a commitment to protecting access to gender-affirming care.”
“State attorneys general will continue to enforce state laws that provide access to gender-affirming care, in states where such enforcement authority exists, and we will challenge any unlawful effort by the Trump administration to restrict access to it in our jurisdictions,” the letter from the attorneys general said.
Two weeks after releasing that letter, Weiser announced that Colorado would also be joining a lawsuit against the “illegal” and “cruel” order.
Originally filed by Washington state in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the lawsuit seeks to permanently block federal agencies from acting on the executive order, which is currently temporarily blocked.
“Parents, in consultation with trusted medical providers, know what is best for their child and should have the option to seek the care their child needs to live their best lives,” Weiser said. “Gender-affirming care is legally protected health care in Colorado, and with this lawsuit Colorado hospitals will again be free to provide critical care.”
Minnesota and Oregon have also joined the lawsuit, which called the executive order “an official statement of bigotry from the President,” alleging it violates the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee.
