RFK Jr agenda suffers another loss as trans advocates hail 'huge step forward'Judge's repeal of Trump ban on gender-affirming care for children 'a meaningful win for patients', experts say
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/23/rfk-jr-agenda-trans-care-children 🔗The Guardian - Melody Schreiber
Thu 23 Apr 2026 07.00 EDT
A federal judge overturned the Trump administration's ban on gender-affirming care for children on Saturday, decrying Robert F Kennedy Jr's "wanton disregard" for the law that "causes very real harm to very real people".
It's another loss for Kennedy's agenda as secretary for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the second Trump administration – an agenda that has focused on restricting healthcare, including vaccines, abortion and gender-affirming care.
"Unserious leaders are unsafe," Mustafa T Kasubhai, a US district judge in Oregon wrote in the opening to his final judgment on the gender-affirming care case, a 49-page decision that excoriated the administration for disregarding the law and overreach in its regulations. The judge also barred the administration from implementing similar policies under any other names to restrict care nationally by withholding funding.
Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, called the ruling "incredibly powerful" and "far-reaching".
"It enjoins them from doing anything to interfere with the authority of states to regulate medical practice," Minter said.
At least 40 health systems have said the threat of losing federal funding is why they stopped providing care in recent weeks.------------------------------------
In response to over 21 states suing the Administration, the US government argued that the Kennedy declaration was merely "an individual's personal opinion."
When the judge overturned the declaration, he called this argument "a bald-faced lie" and an attempt to "bully or gaslight" the court. He also stated that it was "clearly unlawful."
