Judge Brendan Hurson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland temporarily halted a executive order issued by President Donald Trump that restricted gender-affirming care for people under age 19. The plaintiffs in the case against the order, which the White House characterized as a general policy directive, said that the directive in practice caused treatments they were receiving to come to a halt.
Numerous states have passed laws prohibiting gender-affirming care, while others have passed legislation to protect the right to receive and administer such care. The plaintiffs argued that the president’s order effectively made the prohibition national.
[The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, ACLU of Maryland and private law firms Hogan Lovells and Jenner & Block filed the suit for the plaintiffs, young adults who are members of PFLAG National.]
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a vocal opponent of youth gender-affirming care, lashed out at the judge and the Democratic Party, writing on X: “The party of pedophiles strikes again.”
The party of pedophiles strikes again! https://t.co/BzMGLeO6x8
— Marjorie Taylor Greene
(@mtgreenee) February 13, 2025
The restraining order issued by the judge is in effect for 14 days, which is unlikely to comfort medical institutions and doctors who are fearful to deliver the treatment in the wake of the executive order.
NBC News reported that “days after Trump signed the order last month, hospitals in New York City, Colorado, Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, announced that they were suspending or reviewing their transition-related care for people under 19.”