A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive orders seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender people under the age of 19. Trump’s order is now blocked nationwide.

In his Thursday ruling, U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson — an appointee President Joe Biden — declared that Trump issued his ban without legal authority, making his orders an illegal and unconstitutional form of discrimination.

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The school districts said that being gender non-conforming has “an adverse impact” on students so parents need to be notified. The judges said no.

Trump’s order seeks to ban youth and adults under the age of 19 from accessing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgical procedures. Several hospitals stopped offering gender-affirming care in response to Trump’s order, effectively forcing trans patients to de-transition, a process which can cause physical and psychological pain.

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“Stopping care in the middle of receiving it, any care, really, casts doubt on whether in fact the goals are to protect the recipients of the care,” Judge Hurson wrote in his ruling.

Additionally, Trump’s order directed the heads of all government agencies to stop all funding to all medical institutions — including medical schools and hospitals — that research, teach about, or provide gender-affirming care. This would not only result in the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars that keep these institutions operating but would also guarantee that pediatric medical students nationwide do not learn about how to treat gender dysphoria for children.

Judge Hurson’s ruling now temporarily prohibits federal agencies from withholding or conditioning funding to these institutions.

The case was brought by a group of transgender teens, their parents and two organizations, PFLAG and Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality (GLMA).

Joshua Block, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney representing the plaintiffs, said that Trump’s order had immediate consequences. He also argued that Trump lacks the authority to instate such wide-reaching restrictions on medical providers nationwide.

Trump’s Department of Justice argued that the case was premature and that the plaintiffs should wait for additional guidance, The Hill reported, but Judge Hurson called the government’s position “disingenuous.”

Responding to the ruling, Block said, “Today’s decision should restore both their access to healthcare and protections under the Constitution. Providers who’ve suspended healthcare for their transgender patients should be left with no doubt that they can lift those suspensions and continue to provide healthcare and act in their best medical judgment without risking their funding or worse.”

Brian K. Bond, CEO of PFLAG National, celebrated the ruling, stating, “Good and decent parents of transgender kids should never be in the frightening position of having their child’s prescribed, medically necessary care canceled at the whim and threat of a politician…. Today’s decision rights a grievous wrong to our nation’s families and children.”

Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel for Lambda Legal, said in a statement, “As today’s decision makes clear, the president does not have the power to unilaterally condition federal funding by requiring discrimination. To the contrary, our laws and Constitution forbid it.”

Alex Sheldon, executive director of GLMA, said, “Forcing providers to withhold medically necessary, evidence-based care not only threatens patient health and well-being, but also undermines the integrity of our healthcare system in its entirety. Today’s intervention by the court underscores the cruelty and recklessness that is embedded in this order and affirms our commitment to resist the administration’s extremist agenda that targets trans and non-binary young people and privileges political ideology over medical expertise,” Advocate.com reported.

An additional case challenging Trump’s ban on gender-affirming care will be heard on Friday in Seattle, Washington as three Democratic attorneys general in Washington, Minnesota and Oregon challenge its provisions.

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