Bay Area activists worry Trump’s push to end youth gender-affirming care is just the beginning

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — There is a new federal crackdown on care for transgender Americans. The newly-proposed restrictions are designed to block access to gender-affirming care for minors.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. on Thursday said his department would prohibit hospitals from providing the specialty care as a condition for Medicare and Medicaid funding.

“Even when you know it’s coming, it still hurts,” said San Francisco Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford, reacting to the Trump administration’s push to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.

Ford said the move could be detrimental to thousands of families across the country, including many here in the Bay Area.

The government will pressure hospitals to stop providing gender-affirming care by withholding federal funding for programs like Medicare. It will also prevent patients from paying for that care with services like Medicaid.

“I know that those people want to do the right thing. I also know that they’re facing difficult choices with the threat of losing hundreds of millions of dollars, affecting thousands and thousands of people,” Ford said.

Many in the trans community worry that if the government proposals become reality, it will make accessing gender-affirming care nearly impossible.

Activists like Honey Mahogany believe the administration is attempting to erase trans people’s existence.

“We have always existed. Trans people have existed since the dawn of time. We are included in the earliest writings known to man,” Mahogany said.

Mahogany says it’s important to remember that the government’s proposals aren’t yet the law.

And groups like the Transgender Law Center say they expect multiple lawsuits to be filed.

“We’re going to try and make sure these rules don’t even reach the point of actionability, and we’re going to use all the tools in our arsenal to try and defend,” said Heron Greenesmith.

Regardless of possible litigation, Ford said she worries about how the announcements will impact transgender youth. And for those feeling that anxiety, she sends this message:

“We are going to use our platform to say that this will not happen. That the government cannot do this to our people. And if you believe that, then you need to come out and support us and be with us.”