Overview
- Todd Blanche, a deputy attorney general, told Letitia James the department disagrees that NYU Langone’s policy is discriminatory and said DOJ will defend the hospital if she sues.
- DOJ argues federal law does not require the hospital to provide the disputed treatments and cites United States v. Skrmetti to support the view that NYU’s diagnosis-based policy is lawful.
- NYU Langone ended its Transgender Youth Health Program last month, halted puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries for minors with gender dysphoria, and said it will still offer counseling.
- The hospital confirmed it will not prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to treat gender dysphoria in any minor but will provide those medications for other diagnoses regardless of gender identity.
- Hours after the DOJ letter, a federal judge barred federal officials from using Medicare and Medicaid funding threats to discourage such care, following a lawsuit joined by James, and it was not immediately clear whether services had resumed.