Attorney General Phil Weiser statement on protecting access to gender-affirming care

Feb. 5, 2025 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser today joined a coalition of attorneys general to reaffirm a commitment to protecting access to gender-affirming care in the face of the Trump administration’s recent Executive Order. The coalition released the following statement:

“As state attorneys general, we stand firmly in support of health care policies that respect the dignity and rights of all people. Health care decisions should be made by patients, families, and doctors, not by politicians trying to use their power to restrict freedoms. Gender-affirming care is essential, life-saving medical treatment that supports individuals in living as their authentic selves.

“The Trump administration’s recent executive order is wrong on the science and the law. Despite what the administration has suggested, there is no connection between ‘female genital mutilation’ and gender-affirming care, and no federal law makes gender-affirming care unlawful. President Trump cannot change that by executive order.

“Last week, attorneys general secured a critical win from a federal court that directed the federal government to resume funding that had been frozen by the administration. In response to the court’s order, the Justice Department has sent a notice stating that ‘federal agencies cannot pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate any awards or obligations on the basis of the OMB memo, or on the basis of the President’s recently issued Executive Orders.’ This means that federal funding to institutions that provide gender-affirming care continues to be available, irrespective of the recent executive order. If the federal administration takes additional action to impede this critical funding, we will not hesitate to take further legal action.

“State attorneys general will continue to enforce state laws that provide access to gender-affirming care, in states where such enforcement authority exists, and we will challenge any unlawful effort by the Trump administration to restrict access to it in our jurisdictions.”

Joining Attorney General Weiser in issuing this statement are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

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