The American Civil Liberties Union and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups are suing President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over an order to halt gender-affirming medical care for people under age 19. One of seven plaintiffs is Willow, a 17-year-old transgender girl whose recent appointment for hormone treatment with Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU was canceled.
In a Jan. 28 executive order called “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” Trump directed federal agencies to revoke funding for institutions receiving federal research or education grants if they provide gender-affirming medical care for people under 19.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
Willow’s mother, Kristen Chapman, spoke Tuesday during a virtual press conference organized by the ACLU.
“When the Tennessee legislature passed a law that banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, I knew we had to leave the state so that my daughter could continue to receive the care she needed,” Chapman said.
She moved to Virginia in 2023, where she struggled at first to find a provider who would accept her Medicaid insurance. And then Chapman spent months waiting for an appointment at VCU — finally booking one for Jan. 29.
“The day before our appointment, President Trump signed the executive order at issue in this case. The next day, just a few hours before our appointment, VCU told us they would not be able to provide Willow with care,” Chapman said. “I thought Virginia would be a safe place for me and my daughter. Instead I am heartbroken, tired and scared.”
On Jan. 30, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares warned VCU Health and UVA Health in a memo that the institutions must comply with the president’s order.
“Given the plain terms of this Executive Order, the chemical and surgical mutilation of children must end immediately,” Miyares wrote. “Any institution that continues to engage in such mutilation unacceptably and unjustifiably endangers not only itself and the Commonwealth, but also the vulnerable children of this Commonwealth.”
Brian Bond, CEO of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group PFLAG, said the organization has received a “drumbeat” of stories like Chapman’s.
“To every transgender and non-binary youth and young adult, every parent, every family, please know this: PFLAG national is not backing down from this fight,” he said.
Josh Block, senior counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, said it’s the role of Congress to decide what restrictions to place on federal grants, not the president’s.
“[The] president has seized for himself the power to say that because he has a policy preference to try to ban gender-affirming medical care for people under 19 in all 50 states, that he is going to use the monies Congress has provided to accomplish those goals,” Block said.