Attorney General Rayfield Wins Lawsuit Protecting Gender-Affirming Care

Attorney General Dan Rayfield led a coalition of 22 states today in securing a federal court order blocking an unlawful attempt by the Trump Administration to threaten healthcare providers that provide care for youth with gender dysphoria. A federal district court issued a written opinion and judgment, granting the plaintiff states' summary judgment motion.

"When families and doctors make healthcare decisions together, no federal official should be able to use threats and intimidation to get in the way," said Attorney General Rayfield. "That's what Secretary Kennedy tried to do - force hospitals and providers to abandon their patients. Oregon will always stand up for the dignity and wellbeing of every person."

On December 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a declaration asserting that certain forms of gender-affirming care are "unsafe and ineffective." In the declaration, Secretary Kennedy attempted to give HHS the power to exclude healthcare providers from Medicare and Medicaid programs simply for providing care for transgender adolescents.

Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition immediately sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, arguing that Secretary Kennedy lacked the legal authority to issue the declaration; that HHS's actions were arbitrary and capricious; and that the agency failed to adhere to the necessary procedural requirements for notice-and-comment rulemaking.

At the end of a summary judgment hearing last month, a federal judge agreed with the states and issued an oral ruling blocking the federal government's threats. Today's written opinion and judgment effectuate that prior ruling and protect healthcare providers and hospitals from the potentially destabilizing effects of HHS's unlawful actions.

Joining Attorney General Rayfield in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania.