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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today co-led a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief
in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland supporting
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), GLMA: Health
Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, and individual patients and
their families, in their lawsuit against the Trump Administration.
On February 4, 2025, PFLAG challenged President Trump’s Executive Orders 14168 and 14187 targeting transgender individuals by stating that gender identity was a “false” idea and by attempting to strip federal funding from institutions that provide life-saving gender affirming care for young people under the age of 19. The amici states argue that this action blatantly and unlawfully discriminates against transgender youth based on their identity.
“The president’s attempt to ban gender-affirming care is an effort to strip transgender people of their humanity. It tells transgender children and young adults that their president does not see them as they are,” said Attorney General Brown. “Our Office stands with those who need this treatment to live the lives they envision for themselves.”
The coalition submitting today’s amicus brief have enacted their own laws, policies and protections for transgender residents, including transgender youth under the age of 19. These laws include legal protections for gender-affirming healthcare services; policies allowing residents to request a change in the sex designation on their birth certificate; prohibitions on discrimination in schools, employment, real estate and other services; and protections for people who lawfully provide or help other access gender-affirming care.
The coalition argues that there is considerable medical evidence showing that gender-affirming care improves the health outcomes for individuals with gender dysphoria, a medical condition characterized by significant distress that occurs when an individual’s gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. Denying this care can have tragic consequences on patients’ physical and mental well-being. A recent study conducted by the University of Washington found that in individuals ages 13-20, receiving gender-affirming care was associated with 60% lower odds of moderate to severe depression and 73% lower odds of having suicidal thoughts over a 12-month period.
The coalition also argues that the Administration’s Executive Orders have sown chaos and confusion among gender-affirming care providers and caused anxiety and fear among transgender youth and their families. The Trevor Project, which provides confidential counseling to LGBTQ+ youth, reported a 700% increase in access to its crisis services since the Presidential election and a 46% increase in volume following the inauguration. In the immediate aftermath of the Executive Orders, facilities across the country halted gender-affirming care for young people, citing fears of losing federal funding for healthcare unrelated to gender-affirming care.
While such care remains available in Maryland, this Executive Order has undeniably and unacceptably scared providers and patients here and across the country. Shortly after PFLAG filed their lawsuit, Attorney General Brown joined 14 other attorneys general in issuing a statement reaffirming their commitment to protecting access to gender-affirming care, reminding providers that federal courts have stopped the Administration from withholding federal funding from institutions, including ones that provide gender-affirming care, and making clear that no federal law prohibits or criminalizes gender affirming care.
For these reasons, the coalition urges the Court to grant PFLAG’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
Co-leading the brief alongside Attorney General Brown are Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Joining the coalition are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
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