NBJC Condemns Trump Administration’s Escalating Attacks on Health Care for Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON — Dr. David J. Johns, CEO and Executive Director of the National Black Justice Collective (NBJC), issued the following statement in response to announcements by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans advancing new federal efforts to restrict or eliminate access to gender-affirming care for transgender young people:
“The Trump administration’s latest moves to cut off Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Medicare funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming health care and to remove gender dysphoria from disability civil rights protections are deliberate and dangerous escalations in its campaign to deny transgender young people the opportunity to thrive as their full selves. These actions are not grounded in science, medicine, or concern for children. They are rooted in discriminatory ideology, mass misinformation, and cruelty, aimed at scoring political points at the expense of trans kids and families.
“Every major medical association in this country recognizes gender-affirming health care as evidence-based, medically necessary, and lifesaving for transgender youth. Replacing medical judgment with political coercion, threatening doctors with prison, and forcing hospitals to choose between abandoning patients or losing federal funding will cause real harm—especially to Black transgender youth and young people from low-income families who already face disproportionate barriers to care.
“This is nothing but an attempt by the federal government to intimidate families, criminalize care, and impose an ignorance-fueled ideological agenda on deeply personal medical decisions. These policies will only deepen the mental health crisis among transgender youth, increase suicide risk, and force families to forego care altogether.
“We urge you to submit comments to the Federal Register opposing the rules from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and contact your federal representatives at (202) 224-3121 to demand they reject and stop this dangerous overreach into health decisions best left to the youth involved, their families, and doctors.
“Instead, Congress and the administration should focus their efforts on lowering healthcare costs and the cost of living in the U.S. We must continue to advocate with the families, doctors, and young people who deserve dignity, autonomy, and access to care. Transgender youth deserve support—not political scapegoating—and NBJC will continue to fight to ensure their lives are protected, affirmed, and valued.”