Overview
- U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai vacated the Kennedy Declaration for more than 20 plaintiff states and D.C. and barred HHS from enforcing a similar policy against them.
- The declaration had labeled youth gender-affirming care as neither safe nor effective and threatened to cut off Medicare and Medicaid funding for providers that offered it.
- The court held that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and HHS lacked legal authority to set care standards or exclude providers from federal programs based on offering such care to minors.
- The judge rejected HHS claims that the directive was only Kennedy’s opinion or protected speech, and the order does not extend nationwide.
- Providers and state officials in covered jurisdictions are weighing whether to restart services, yet other federal proposals and ongoing litigation keep access and legal risk uneven across the country.