Gothamist – By Giulia Heyward | March 10, 2025
New York lawmakers are moving quickly to protect access to gender-affirming care for transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people in response to a sweeping executive order from President Donald Trump.
The president’s directive, issued in his first weeks back in office, aims to block access to gender-affirming medical care for anyone under 19. It prohibits federal funding for procedures such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery — describing them as “chemical and surgical mutilation.”
The order also withholds grants for research or education about such care.
In New York, where gender-affirming care is more accessible than in other states, trans youth and their families have grown increasingly worried about the future. Some parents rallied last month after learning that NYU Langone had reportedly canceled gender-affirming treatments for certain adolescents following Trump’s executive order.
Despite existing local and state laws that protect LGBTQ+ New Yorkers from health care discrimination, city and state lawmakers are drafting new legislation to further safeguard access to care.
State-level response
In Albany, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal of Manhattan introduced a bill requiring Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care while also expanding anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ individuals and other protected groups. Medicaid is funded jointly by the federal and state governments, but administered by states.
“It would be fair to call it a response to Trump’s executive order,” Rosenthal told Gothamist in an interview. “I was anticipating some attack on people who are transgender. So once we found out, we drafted something to ensure that people who are transgender – or a gender identity different from what Trump considers allowable in this country – we worked fast.”
The City Council’s push for local protections
Meanwhile, several members of the New York City Council — including those in the LGBTQ+ and progressive caucuses — introduced a bill strengthening legal protections for local health care providers offering gender-affirming care. The legislation would impose penalties on anyone who interferes with access to these services and would explicitly add gender-affirming care to a patient’s private right of action.
Councilmember Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn, a lead sponsor of the bill, said the legislation is necessary amid rising anti-trans rhetoric and protests.
“Anti-trans protests are on the rise nationwide, fueled by bigots emboldened by President Trump’s dangerous trans erasure agenda,” Hanif said. “In this increasingly hostile climate, we must use every tool available to ensure trans patients can access the care they need.”
The bill is part of a broader package that includes expanding public outreach and health campaigns for transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming New Yorkers. Another proposal in the package focuses on providing additional resources for newly arrived migrants under 24 who identify as transgender, nonbinary or gender-nonconforming.
The Trump administration recently removed the words “transgender” and “queer” from the federal Stonewall National Monument’s official webpage, sparking protests in Greenwich Village. Local lawmakers and activists condemned the move, saying they saw it as part of a broader federal effort to erase trans identities from public recognition.
Preparing for a legal battle
Councilmember Erik Bottcher of Manhattan said he expects legal challenges against these bills, but believes they are necessary to push back against Trump’s policies.
“The Trump’s administration’s abuse of executive order has been so extensive on so many issues, I think we are going to see a lot of litigation which will be very important in shaping the future of our nation and how democracy works,” he said.
Despite the potential for legal challenges, Bottcher and other lawmakers said they want these bills passed and enacted quickly.
The efforts at the city level join other initiatives aimed at countering Trump’s policies, including resolutions urging state officials to sign laws protecting patient privacy and requiring hospitals to provide quality care for people with gender dysphoria.
Councilmember Tiffany Cabán of Queens made it clear that New York’s elected officials won’t back down.
“We will defend our transgender and gender-nonconforming neighbors at all costs,” Cabán said. “To anyone who is considering throwing our LGBTQIA+ community under the bus: Grow a spine. To anyone who wants to ruin the lives of our transgender siblings, take away their access to health care, blame them for society’s ills and take away their rights: Grow a heart.”
Federal courts have already started pushing back against Trump’s executive order. A judge in Seattle recently blocked the directive from taking effect in Washington, Minnesota, Oregon and Colorado after attorneys general in those states filed lawsuits. Another judge in Baltimore, Maryland, issued a separate injunction against the order this week.
