Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s antiscientific schlock about gender-affirming health care has been rebuked by a federal judge.
Nearly two dozen states sued the federal government in December over a document Kennedy issued last year falsely claiming gender-affirming care for transgender people isn’t safe, effective or compliant with “professionally recognized standards.” Virtually every reputable medical association in the United States say otherwise, yet some deranged Republicans have tried to portray this scientific consensus as some kind of criminal conspiracy.
As The New York Times reported Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ruled in the states’ favor, granting them preliminary relief from Kennedy’s directives and denying the government’s attempt to dismiss the case.
The ruling effectively shows that the Oregon-based judge didn’t buy the government’s argument that Kennedy’s document merely constituted a personal opinion, and instead sided with state attorneys general, including from New York and California, who contended that Kennedy’s official declaration amounted to federal overreach.
In December, the Trump administration also threatened to withhold federal funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care. Some hospitals stopped offering such treatment in response, including the Children’s Minnesota system and the NYU Langone Health network in New York City. Earlier this month, New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered the NYU Langone centers to reverse their cessation of the care. In a statement after Thursday’s court ruling, she said: Today’s win breaks through the noise and gives some needed clarity to patients, families, and providers. Health care services for transgender young people remain legal, and the federal government cannot intimidate or punish the providers who offer them.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. 
