Transgender care: US ȷudge rules RFK Jr declaration “did not follow lawful procedure”

A US health department declaration that gender transition treatments for minors “do not meet professionally recognised standards” overstepped its authority and did not follow lawful procedures, a federal judge has ruled.The ruling—by Judge Mustafa Kasubhai of the District of Oregon—could restore access to services that some hospitals and clinics scaled back after health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr issued the declaration on 18 December 2025.1His ruling follows legal action by 19 states and the District of Columbia against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).2The coalition argued that the HHS declaration unlawfully sought to pressure providers by threatening their participation in federal health programmes including Medicare and Medicaid.Accepting this argument, Kasubhai said, “There’s a theme of break it and see what others will do” in the way that the HHS attempted to change national health policy on gender affirming care, using a public statement without allowing the necessary...