Minnesota, Other States Block Attempt to Stop Gender Affirming Care

March 26, 2026

On March 19, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and a coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia secured a federal court ruling blocking an attempt by the Trump Administration to pressure healthcare providers into ending care for youth with gender dysphoria.  

The court indicated from the bench that it would grant the States’ motion for summary judgment and vacate the declaration issued by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on December 18, 2025. Kennedy had hoped to supersede state standards of medical care, and threatened hospitals and clinics that provide gender-affirming care with potential exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid.   

"Gender-affirming care is healthcare, and healthcare decisions should be left up to doctors, their patients, and if the patient is younger, their parents or guardians,” Ellison said. “States are responsible for licensing and regulating the medical profession, and professional associations like the American Medical Association, the Endocrine Society, and others like them, establish standards of medical care based on evidence-based research. The federal government should not be part of that equation.” 

Joining Minnesota in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania.