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A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2023 has ruled that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. he went too far in his December announcement that “sex-optimized procedures” for children are “unsafe and ineffective.”
US District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai in Oregon ruled that RFK Jr. exceeded his authority and failed to follow the administrative procedures required when HHS issued the order.
The decision provides first aid to health professionals who provide treatment. The judge also denied the government’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was brought by 20 blue-chip states and Washington, DC, which had approved the controversial “sex rejection” health services, including “puberty suppression hormones, sex hormones, and surgical procedures.”
RFK Jr. used a “comprehensive evidence review of “documented risks of serious harm, significantly weaker evidence of benefit, negative risk-benefit profiles, inadequate existing clinical guidelines, growing international consensus among countries that conduct rigorous evidence reviews, and effective medical ethics” to issue a ruling rejected by Kasubhaachi as overreree.
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FILE – US District Judge Mustafa Taher Kasubhai testified during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Sexual rejection procedures for children and adolescents are unsafe and ineffective as a treatment for gender dysphoria, gender nonconformity, or other related disorders in children and, therefore, fail to meet recognized standards of health care,” the announcement said. “For the purpose of this declaration, ‘sex rejection procedures’ means medical or surgical interventions, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries such as mastectomies, vaginoplasties, and other procedures, that attempt to harmonize a person’s physical appearance or body with someone who is different from the person’s sex.”
The ruling prevents the federal government from immediately enforcing the order against hospitals and health care workers.
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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy was reprimanded by a Biden-appointed judge for using ‘break and see’ actions regarding ‘sex denial practices.’ (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The lawsuit said the announcement was illegal and an attempt to circumvent established medical standards without public notice or comment. The federal government has said that the general policy statement is exempt from the requirements to make formal rules.
The announcement was “a non-binding policy statement by the Secretary on the safety and effectiveness of certain treatments for children and adolescents for gender dysphoria, gender nonconformity, or other related conditions,” the government said on February 10.
“Secretary Kennedy, like anyone else, has the right to express his opinion on the safety and efficacy of emerging and controversial medical procedures. This Declaration summarizes Secretary Kennedy’s independent review of the referenced medical literature and expresses his opinion that certain medical procedures are unsafe and ineffective and fail to meet professionally recognized health care standards.”
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Kasubhai’s decision came at the end of a hearing that lasted for about six hours and will be followed by a written verdict.
“There’s a theme of ‘break it and see what others will do,’ and that’s not a plan or a legal approach,” Kasubhai said. “That idea of ’I’m going to go ahead, issue a decree and see if we can get away with it,’ that’s not a principle of governance that is consistent with a great commitment to a democratic society that requires the law to be taken and respected and respected as a sacred thing.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James has led a lawsuit brought by states that allow ‘sex denial practices’ against the Trump administration. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the case, said the ruling protects patients, families and providers from government intimidation.
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“Much of the discussion about transgender health care has lost sight of the real people who are being harmed by the federal government’s attacks,” James wrote in a statement last week, praising the idea. “Young people lose access to life-saving drugs, families are left in the dark, and health workers are threatened for doing their job and following standards of care.
“Today’s win cuts through the noise and gives patients, families and providers the clarity they need. Health care services for young transgender people remain legal, and the federal government cannot intimidate or punish providers who provide them.
“It is my duty and my privilege to stand with trans New Yorkers and their families. I will always fight for the LGBTQ+ community.”
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The lawsuit was brought by Oregon, New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The decision comes as President Donald Trump seeks to include a 2024 presidential campaign pledge to “protect children from transgender surgery” in the SAVE America Act of 2026 being debated in the Senate.
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Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., formally introduced an amendment to attach Trump’s priorities to the election integrity bill.
“I worked closely with President Trump and the White House to introduce an amendment that will save our elections, save women’s sports, and save our children from genital mutilation surgery,” Schmitt wrote in a statement last week. “It’s time to do this.”
