Maine’s attorney general has vowed to protect access to gender-affirming care despite opposition from the Trump administration.
Attorney General Aaron Frey joined 14 other states attorneys general in issuing a statement Wednesday challenging the validity of an executive order from President Donald Trump.
“As state attorneys general, we stand firmly in support of healthcare policies that respect the dignity and rights of all people. Health care decisions should be made by patients, families, and doctors, not by a politician trying to use his power to restrict your freedoms. Gender-affirming care is essential, life-saving medical treatment that supports individuals in living as their authentic selves,” the attorneys general said.
On Jan. 28, Trump issued an executive order seeking to withdraw federal support for gender-affirming care for Americans under age 19. In the order, he likened that care to “maiming,” “sterilizing” and “mutilation.”
It also called on Congress to pass legislation to allow providers to be sued over providing gender-affirming care and directed the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue investigations against states that protect access.
That order has already prompted hospitals in several states to suspend some gender-affirming care services.
But the attorneys general said that Trump is “wrong on the science and the law.”
They further argued that a federal court decision last week that halted a temporary freeze on government funding — which the Trump administration withdrew a day later — would prevent Trump from unilaterally withholding federal funds from states and providers over his opposition to gender-affirming care.
“If the federal administration takes additional action to impede this critical funding, we will not hesitate to take further legal action,” the attorneys general wrote.
In addition to Frey, the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin signed the statement.
