Federal Judge Rules Against RFK jr's Latest Attack on Trans Youth Gender Affirming Healthcare

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaking with attendees at the Memorial for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona / Wikipedia

A federal Judge in Oregon ruled Friday that RFK jr overreached when he issued a declaration that prohibited hospitals from administering gender-affirming care to minors. The Health and Human Services department has subsequently opened investigations of 13 hospitals and threatened those who did not comply with the loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding.

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After a six-hour hearing in the case in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, Judge Mustafa Kasubhai of U.S. District Court said that Mr. Kennedy had not followed normal procedures before publishing his declaration on the issue, the NY Times reports.

The judge, who was appointed to the bench by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., said that the case spoke to broader tactics that threatened to undermine democracy.

“The notion that ‘I will go forward and issue a declaration and see if we can get away with it’ is not a principle of governance that adheres to the overarching commitment to a democratic republic that requires the rule of law to be regarded and respected and honored as sacred,” the judge said.

A coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia had sued HHS, Kennedy and its inspector general over the declaration, alleging that it is inaccurate and unlawful and asking the court to block its enforcement, the AP reports.

Major medical groups and those who treat transgender young people have sharply criticized the report as inaccurate, and most major U.S. medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, continue to oppose restrictions on transgender care and services for young people.