State of Washington challenges unconstitutional presidential order criminalizing, and ending funding for gender-affirming care

SEATTLE — Attorney General Nick Brown filed a multi-state federal lawsuit today to halt a presidential order that threatens to end federal funding to medical institutions providing gender-affirming care.

President Trump’s executive order – which Brown called clearly illegal and unusually cruel – also directs unconstitutional criminal enforcement against medical professionals and patients involved in such care. The lawsuit seeks to block federal agencies from acting on this order.

“This order is part of a larger political effort to strip away civil rights from entire communities. The president’s cruelty is on full display with this dehumanizing executive order, along with his disdain for the Constitution,” Brown said. “His actions are harming Washington’s youth, parents, and health care providers.”

The state is joined in the suit by the attorneys general of Minnesota and Oregon. Three individual doctors are joining as plaintiffs in the case, representing themselves as well as their minor patients for whom they care. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

“President Trump’s attempt to withhold federal funds from states that offer health care to transgender Washingtonians is unlawful and cruel,” said Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson. “Washington is a place that supports every resident’s civil rights. My team is working closely with the Attorney General to ensure Washingtonians are protected from illegal federal actions.”

The states argue this order violates the 5^th Amendment’s equal protection guarantee by singling out transgender individuals for mistreatment and discrimination. Additionally, Congress has already authorized research and education funding for medical institutions in Washington state, and the president cannot unilaterally overrule congressional intent.

The states also note the president cannot unilaterally regulate or criminalize medical practices in Washington state, which are protected by the 10^th Amendment.

The executive order, issued on Jan. 28, directs agencies to cut off federal research and education grants to medical institutions, including hospitals and medical schools, that provide gender-affirming care to anyone under the age of 19. This would prevent hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants from flowing to state medical schools and hospitals.

Providers tell the Attorney General’s Office they fear for the safety of patients and their families. One of the providers joining as a plaintiff wrote that if minors lose access to gender-affirming care, “I have no doubt that transgender adolescents will die. I am certain of it. There are going to be young people who are going to take their lives if they can no longer receive this care.”

In the motion for an emergency court order to block the executive action, Brown included examples of the harm that youth, parents, and medical providers are already enduring. A total of more than 100 witnesses provided declarations in support of the motion.

This action comes on the heels of an order by a federal court in Rhode Island that prohibits Trump from cutting off any funding to a group of 22 states, including Washington. Yet Trump continues to issue orders that cut off federal funding to a host of programs, including to institutions that provide gender affirming care.

Attorneys Cindy Alexander, Todd Bowers, May Che, Spencer Coates, Alexia Diorio, Lauryn Fraas, Teri Healy, Tera Heintz, Andrew Hughes, Neal Luna, William McGinty, Colleen Melody, Emily Nelson, Mitchell Riese, Cristina Sepe, Sarah Smith-Levy, Raina Wagner, Lucy Wolf; Paralegals Jessica Buswell, Ali Hollenbeck, Diane Hoosier, Connor Hopkins, Victoria Johnson, Tally Locke, Alicia Nicole Stensland, Christine Truong, Jennah Williams, Jamie Wuco,  Logan Young; and Investigators Rebecca Pawul, Tony Perkins, Alma Poletti, Jennifer Sievert, and Jennifer Treppa assisted in bringing this case for Washington.

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