| | PFLAG National—along with transgender young adults and families with transgender youth and GLMA—is serving as a plaintiff in a federal legal challenge against the executive order from the Trump administration attempting to shut down nationwide access to necessary medical care for transgender people under 19. The case is called PFLAG v Trump. PFLAG v Trump was filed to challenge the order, which directs federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that offer gender-affirming medical treatments to anyone under 19, threatening to shut down access to essential health care that is already out-of-reach for many. If enforced, the order would deny critical federal funds to hospitals, clinics, doctors, and other providers, leading some provider networks to prematurely cancel appointments with transgender youth and announce they are ceasing care altogether. We have an FAQ available on our website, and will update that document frequently. If you have further questions NOT addressed on the FAQ, please contact eolegal@pflag.org. If you or someone you love has been denied care, please report this right away to the Lambda Legal Help Desk at lambdalegal.org/helpdesk. This case is being covered widely in the press, including Associated Press (AP), NBC News Online, ABC News, CNN, and NBC News (broadcast). |
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| |  | | Here is a sample of what’s going on around the country. Please be kind to yourself and use your discretion while reading this section. You can share news from your state with advocacy@pflag.org for possible inclusion in a future newsletter. California - Speaker Emerita Pelosi’s office receives many calls from trans people facing passport issues. The State Department is no longer issuing passports with X gender markers and will only issue passports based on sex assigned at birth. CA Attorney General Bonta Reminds Hospitals and Clinics of Anti-Discrimination Laws Amid Executive Order on Gender Affirming Care. The AG informed hospitals that halting provision of gender-affirming care to youth under 19 would violate state law. Georgia - Bill banning transgender girls from playing in girls' sports passes Georgia Senate. The bill passed the Senate along party lines with two Democrats voting for it, too. It is now headed to the House. Legislature advances anti-trans bills. Committees in the State Senate passed bills to ban trans athletes from participating in school sports as well as a bill to ban state funding for gender-affirming care. The House Speaker also announced that the House would also take action on an anti-trans athlete ban bill. Kansas - Legislature passes gender-affirming care ban. SB 63 now heads to Governor Laura Kelly, who vetoed a similar piece of legislation last year. Missouri - Legislature holds hearings on bills seeking to make state’s gender-affirming care ban permanent. The current ban, adopted in 2023, expires in 2027. Some lawmakers are seeking to make the healthcare ban permanent. New York - Attorney General Tish James tells hospitals to continue providing gender-affirming care. The Attorney General informed hospitals that halting provision of gender-affirming care to youth under 19 would violate state law. South Carolina - State Board of Education decides to remove several books from public school libraries. Four books are being removed from public school libraries : “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson, “Flamer” by Mike Curato, and “Push” by Sapphire. Virginia - Protestors condemn UVA hospital decision to halt gender-affirming care. UVA Health announced it would not provide gender-affirming care to patients under 19. Hours after the decision was announced, about 100 protesters arrived to condemn the decision. Wyoming - Legislature considers anti-trans athlete ban, facilities ban. The House Education Committee voted to send HB 60, an anti-trans athlete ban, as well as HB 72, an anti-trans facilities ban, to the full House for consideration. |
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| | | Federal lawsuit filed challenging Idaho book ban law. Publishers, authors, librarians, and others sued the State of Idaho, arguing that HB 710 - which was signed into law last year - is unconstitutionally vague and violates the First Amendment, as well as promoting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. HB 710 allows people to challenge library books deemed “harmful” to minors, and sue the relevant school district if the books aren’t removed. |
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| | | This section largely describes the executive orders signed by President Trump since January 20, 2025. Many of these harmful actions directly target LGBTQ+ people, and transgender people and their families in particular are experiencing heightened stress as a result. Please know that executive orders do NOT override the United States Constitution, federal statutes, or established legal precedent. Many executive actions are required by law to follow a process before any changes can be implemented. Furthermore, for some of the President’s executive orders, litigation is not only expected but is also already happening. In response, PFLAG National has created a webpage of explainers and resources for these executive orders. This page will be updated frequently as we gather information from our many trusted coalition partners. Please use this information to inform your activism, advocacy, and media work. President Trump signs executive order seeking to ban trans women and girls from competing in sports. The order, signed on February 5th, directs federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, to interpret Title IX to prohibit the participation of transgender girls and women in female sports categories and to mandate that locker rooms and changing rooms be segregated by sex assigned at birth. Some hospitals preemptively stop administering medically necessary care for trans and nonbinary youth in response to Trump executive order. Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia, and Washington, DC have announced they are pausing providing various forms of gender-affirming medical care for youth under 19 while they evaluate the President’s executive order which aims to end federal funding for such care, resulting in protests. Government websites erase references to LGBTQ+ issues, vaccine data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for example, seems to have erased webpages that discussed gender, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and LGBTQ+ health. This comes after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed agency chiefs to strip “gender ideology” from websites. Clothes, feminine-associated products seized from trans women in federal custody. Trans women who are incarcerated in federal prisons are being directed to surrender feminine clothing, women’s razors, and other items following an executive order directing the Federal Bureau of Prisons to move trans women out of women’s facilities and to end gender-affirming care for inmates. The order is facing at least two lawsuits. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rolls back trans-inclusive policies. Acting Chair Andrea Lucas announced in a press release that one of her priorities is “to defend the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights, including women’s rights to single-sex spaces at work.” The EEOC also removed the X gender marker as well as the “Mx.” prefix option in its intake form for reporting workplace discrimination. EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels, who was removed from her position by President Trump, made a statement saying she would explore legal options to challenge her removal and emphasized the importance of the EEOC’s work to prevent discrimination based on gender identity. |
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| | | NCAA announces anti-trans athlete ban. The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes on February 6th, one day after President Trump released an executive order aimed at banning trans girls and women from participating in sports. The new NCAA policy is that competition in women's sports would be open to those who were assigned female at birth only.
Lady Gaga highlights trans visibility in Grammy award acceptance speech. Lady Gaga won the award for best pop duo/group performance and in her acceptance speech said that “trans people are not invisible. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up” |
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