US judge halts Trump executive order cutting funding for gender-affirming care for minors

​​​​​​​By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - A US district judge paused the Trump administration's executive order to revoke federal funding from institutions offering gender-affirming care to those under the age of 19.

Families of transgender or nonbinary children recently filed a lawsuit claiming the president’s order had already affected their health care, prompting Brendan Hurson’s decision on Tuesday.

Federally funded hospitals and clinics were prohibited from offering gender-affirming care to minors after the executive order. The judge, however, temporarily paused the order last month, allowing providers to resume care under the court’s restraining order.

Hurson noted in his ruling that families proved their hardships stemmed from the disruption of care deemed "essential" by medical professionals, adding that the hardships could be catastrophic.

"The sudden denial or interruption of Plaintiffs’ medical care has caused or is expected to soon cause unwanted physical changes, depression, increased anxiety, heightened gender dysphoria, severe distress, risk of suicide, uncertainty about how to obtain medical care, impediments to maintaining a social life, and fear of discrimination, including hate crimes," said Hurson.

The preliminary injunction by Hurson will remain until the court decides on the merits of the case.

President Donald Trump signed the “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” executive order Jan. 28, saying: “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,” calling the treatments “destructive and life-altering.”​​​​​​​