Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

 Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York co-led a multistate lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict access to medically necessary health care for transgender and nonbinary youth. 

Raoul and the coalition of 14 other attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania, filed the lawsuit targeting recent federal actions aimed at deterring providers from offering medically appropriate care to transgender individuals under age 19, even in states like Illinois where such care is legal and protected. The lawsuit argues the administration has overstepped its authority by using threats of criminal prosecution and federal investigations to pressure health care providers. The coalition is asking the court to block these actions and protect access to care for patients who need it. 

“Medically necessary health care for transgender youth is lawful, essential and lifesaving medical treatment that supports the right of all individuals to live as their authentic selves. However, the Trump administration’s attacks and attempts to mischaracterize and threaten this care have been relentless,” Raoul said. “The Department of Justice’s focus on hospitals and health care providers that offer a wide range of care to pediatric patients is cruel, unlawful and does not make children safer. Instead, the department is diverting valuable law enforcement resources away from catching real child predators and instead coercing health care providers to stop providing the care their patients require.” 

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to erase the existence of transgender and nonbinary individuals by declaring that the United States would only recognize two sexes and calling for an end to federal support for what it called “gender ideology.” A second order, signed soon after, focused on restricting medically necessary health care for youth and young adults. It defined everyone under 19 as a child, even though states like Illinois consider 18 year olds legal adults, and used the inflammatory and inaccurate language, “chemical and surgical mutilation” to refer to lawful health care for transgender youth and young adults. The order directed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue enforcement actions related to this care. 

Since then, the DOJ has issued subpoenas to providers, demanded private patient data, and suggested that criminal charges may follow. Raoul and the attorneys general argue that these efforts have no legal basis and are intended to discourage providers from offering lifesaving health care that is lawful under state law.  

In the lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition warn the administration’s tactics have already impacted some states’ providers who have started to reduce or eliminate services due to their fear of being targeted by the federal government’s actions, and some patients have reported canceled appointments and confusion about whether they can continue their care.  

Raoul’s lawsuit seeks to prevent further harm and to ensure that transgender youth and their families can access care without being targeted by the federal government. 

Medical experts, including every major national medical association, agree that this medical care is not only necessary for many transgender young people, but that in some cases it is lifesaving. Denying such care has been shown to worsen mental health outcomes, including increased rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. 

Raoul and the coalition argue that the administration’s actions violate the Constitution, exceed federal authority and undermine state laws that require equal access to medical treatment. In Illinois, laws protect patients from discrimination based on gender identity, and health care providers are required to treat all patients fairly and without bias. The lawsuit asks the court to block the administration’s and DOJ’s actions and stop the enforcement of executive order. 

Joining Raoul and the lead states in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, as well as the state of Pennsylvania.