by Cliff Vacin ‘25

Many of President Trump’s recent policies have received large media acknowledgment, such as his claims towards improving the economy and cost of living, along with his orders and statements towards immigration. However, many policies of his that relate to transgender individuals have not been covered by the media, and articles that were written concerning the state of transgender rights have been mostly negative. Many of Trump’s executive orders contain wording and explicit statements that target transgender citizens. One claim commonly stated was the “giving of hormones” or statements of chemical/physical mutilation towards children. In states where underage gender-affirming care is legal, the earliest possible age to access any treatment such as hormone therapy (taking estrogen or testosterone) is 16, with parental consent. Individuals can access hormones with parental permission as early as 14 if they are deemed a risk to themself, such as expressing suicidal ideation due to Gender Dysphoria. Cases are rare, however, and in a few states, low-risk surgeries can be accessed after the age of 16 with parental consent. Underage gender-affirming care is extremely rare, with an estimated less than one in 1000 transgender minors only seeking medical treatment.

On February 5th, President Trump passed an executive order regarding the status of transgender individuals, most notably transgender juveniles in female sports. This is part of an ongoing attack by the Trump administration against transgender individuals, especially transgender youth. This order has spiked a large debate among the national government and state governments, with varying levels of support emerging from different areas.

Since March, President Trump has passed five executive orders relating to transgender individuals. “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” was one of two executive orders passed during Trump’s first day in office. Focused on gender markers in documentation, this executive order stated that individuals align with their biological sex and that there were only two genders. This was particularly controversial due to Trump’s initial confusing wording, which had stated everyone was assigned female at birth. This order was also particularly contentious due to its erasure of intersex individuals who were not assigned a gender at birth. The second executive order passed on Trump’s first day of office was “Initial Recissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions”; while the executive order was not solely focused on transgender individuals, it sought to remove many anti-discrimination orders made during Biden’s presidency, including ones that protected transgender individuals from workplace and housing discrimination. A week later, on February 27, the order “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” stated that the United States military would now exclude transgender individuals, sorting gender dysphoria under mental conditions such as bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and suicidality.
Trump’s fourth executive order, named “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” set forward boundaries that “children”, or as labeled by Trump, individuals under the age of 19, will no longer be able to transition physically. This includes hormone blockers, usage of synthetic hormones such as testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen, and surgical procedures such as masculinizing chest reconstruction (“top surgery”). This executive order labeling individuals under the age of 19 as children is misleading, as, without exemptions, individuals are only able to access these tools after the age of 18, or 16, with parental consent. This order has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, and since then, the ban has been additionally extended. The latest executive order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” was created to prohibit transgender women from using women’s locker rooms and participating in school-related female-only sports teams. However, this failed to advance in the Senate–nonetheless, many states have taken similar measures.
The Social Security Office has also banned individuals from changing their sex marker on federal documents such as passports and birth certificates, commonly utilized to get jobs and for travel. This is particularly controversial due to the backlash happening–with trans people reporting that when going to change their gender marker on their passport or birth certificate, they were turned away. Some additionally reported having their documents taken and were not returned. Several federal websites have also removed the mentions of transgender people, such as the Social Security Office stating LGBQ, as well as the national Stonewall websites removing any mentions of transgender people.

25 states currently have bans for underage gender-affirming care. Six of these states make it a felony for doctors to assist minors in receiving gender-affirming care, which are Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and South Carolina. Seven states fully do not allow for gender markers to be changed on birth certificates, which are Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Florida, Kansas, Tennessee, and Texas additionally have a ban on changing gender markers for driving licenses. Georgia has had a point of controversy recently due to a bill banning the funding of gender-affirming care for adults. The Utah legislature has recently approved a bill in order to restrict transgender individuals from living in dorms that align with their gender identity. At least 10 states have stated that their government would seek to define “male” and “female” in their constitution to align with their biological sex, along with setting forward standards to segregate bathrooms and locker rooms along with biological sex. In accepting areas like New York City and the greater Los Angeles region, clinics have lost funding for assistance for gender-affirming care.
Certain states have been deemed safe havens for transgender people, as they have constitutionally protected the rights to gender-affirming care. These states are as follows: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Washington, D.C. has also constitutionally protected their rights to gender-affirming care. 15 Attorney Generals have signed a letter stating their states would not cooperate with the federal order. Maine has been a particular contender in the media as of late, due to their spars with President Trump over refusing to cooperate with the transgender athletes order. Maryland has been a safe space for transgender people, as a judge has blocked Trump’s executive orders relating to underage gender-affirming care and bans on transgender athletes.