Trump Administration Moves to Ban Federally Funded Transgender Procedures for Minors

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled sweeping proposals aimed at curbing transgender medical procedures for minors, with a particular focus on surgeries and drug treatments. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that one proposed rule would bar hospitals receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding from performing what the department now terms “sex-rejecting” procedures on children. A separate proposal would prohibit Medicaid funds from being used for such treatments for minors.

Kennedy also signed a declaration stating that these procedures are neither safe nor effective treatments for pediatric gender dysphoria, citing a review of peer-reviewed evidence. HHS is further moving to remove gender dysphoria from disability classifications to avoid conflicts with non-discrimination rules.

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz criticized what he described as profiteering within the medical establishment, noting the high costs of these procedures. The proposals come amid growing scrutiny of pediatric gender treatments and legislative efforts to criminalize such interventions nationwide.

Previously, the UOJ announced the release of Renewing Gender: An Orthodox Perspective, the first comprehensive Orthodox Christian critique of contemporary gender theory published in English.

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