Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced a series of proposed regulatory actions to carry out President Donald Trump's executive order directing HHS to end the practice of sex-rejecting procedures on children.
During a news conference broadcast on Newsmax, Kennedy said doctors "assume a solemn obligation to protect children," but argued that medical groups have promoted "needless and irreversible" interventions for minors with gender dysphoria.
The sweeping proposals are the most significant moves the Trump administration has taken so far to restrict the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgical interventions for transgender children.
He called so-called "gender-affirming care" for children "not medicine" but "malpractice," and said HHS is "done with junk science driven by ideological pursuits, not the well-being of children."
Kennedy said the moves are guided by "gold standard science" and anchored in an HHS peer-reviewed review of evidence that the department published last month on pediatric gender dysphoria.
According to an HHS press release, the department’s actions include two new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) notices of proposed rulemaking.
One proposal would bar hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid from performing sex-rejecting procedures on children under 18 as a condition of participation.
A second proposal would prohibit federal Medicaid funding for such procedures for those under 18 and would apply similarly to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for individuals under 19.
The press release also said Kennedy signed a declaration finding these interventions do not meet "professionally recognized standards of health care," with practitioners deemed out of compliance under that declaration.
HHS further announced that the Food and Drug Administration is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers over the "illegal marketing of breast binders to children" for the purpose of treating gender dysphoria, warning of possible enforcement actions.
In addition, HHS said it is moving to reverse a Biden-era attempt to include gender dysphoria within the definition of disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, seeking to reassure recipients of HHS funds that policies limiting these procedures do not violate federal disability nondiscrimination requirements.
Kennedy framed the crackdown as part of Trump's broader child-protection push.
Trump's executive order directs HHS to use regulatory and sub-regulatory tools, especially around Medicare and Medicaid standards, to end what the order calls "chemical and surgical mutilation of children."
Conservatives have long argued that the federal government should not bankroll controversial, life-altering medical interventions for minors, especially when the evidence base is disputed and when long-term outcomes remain hotly debated.
The regulations are not yet final and must go through public comment and litigation scrutiny, with major medical and advocacy groups expected to oppose the effort.
More than half of U.S. states already ban or restrict gender-changing care.
But Thursday’s announcement imperils access in nearly two dozen states where drug treatments and surgical procedures remain legal and funded by Medicaid, which includes federal and state dollars.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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