Category: Intolerance

The Trump administration’s Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters on December 16 to ten chest binder manufacturers—FLAVNT, The Fluxion, For Them, gc2b, GenderBender, ShapeShifter Apparel, TomboyX, TOMSCOUT, TransGuy Supply, and UNTAG—and two online retailers, Early to Bed and Passional Boutique, alleging violations of federal medical device registration requirements. The letters threatened seizure and injunction if manufacturers did not address alleged violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s recordkeeping requirements.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary falsely claimed during a December 18 Department of Health and Human Services press conference that the brands were engaged in “illegal marketing of breast binders for children, for the purposes of treating gender dysphoria,” stating that “pushing transgender ideology in children is predatory.” However, Them found no marketing copy on the brands’ websites targeting children, contradicting Makary’s assertion.

The action coincided with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announcement of proposed rules to block healthcare providers from offering gender-affirming medical care, including measures to deny Medicaid and Medicare certification to hospitals providing such care and remove gender dysphoria from federal disability nondiscrimination protections. During the same press conference, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz falsely claimed that trans youth regularly receive vaginoplasties and phalloplasties costing up to $150,000, when in fact the vast majority of gender-affirming surgeries performed on minors are breast reduction procedures for cisgender boys.

The FDA warning letters represent an escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign against gender-affirming care that began in January with executive orders defining “biological sex” as binary and broadly targeting what Republicans label “gender ideology.” American Academy of Pediatrics President Susan Kressly condemned the administration’s actions as “baseless intrusion into the patient-physician relationship” that makes medical decision-making “harder, if not impossible, for families of gender-diverse and transgender youth.”

Republican-controlled states have pursued parallel restrictions; Florida has moved to block medical organizations from providing gender-affirming care to trans youth, while Kentucky has limited adults’ access as well. The coordinated federal and state actions violate medical consensus and prioritize political ideology over established standards of care.

(Source: https://www.them.us/story/trump-administration-chest-binders-trans-nonbinary-warning-tomboyx-gc2b)

The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services announced December 18, 2025, that it will move to eliminate federal funding for transgender healthcare for minors nationwide, targeting puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgical procedures. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will initiate rulemaking to prohibit hospitals from providing such care as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid participation, and will bar Medicaid funding from supporting these treatments. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. characterized transition-related care as “malpractice” that violates the Hippocratic Oath, and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz stated the administration will prevent “taxpayer money” from funding what he termed “sex-rejecting procedures.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ president, Dr. Susan Kressly, stated the HHS policies “misconstrue the current medical consensus and fail to reflect the realities of pediatric care,” warning that allowing government to determine which patient groups receive care “sets a dangerous precedent.” Dr. Kenneth Haller, a pediatrician, characterized the actions as “anti-science,” noting that identical hormone treatments remain legal when used to treat other conditions affecting hormone production, revealing the policies target transgender minors specifically rather than medical safety. The FDA will issue warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers of breast binders for minors, alleging illegal marketing for gender dysphoria treatment.

The HHS Office for Civil Rights proposed revisions to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to clarify that gender dysphoria does not constitute a disability under federal nondiscrimination law, allowing funding recipients to restrict transition-related care without violating federal civil rights protections. The proposed rules and revision will undergo 60-day and 30-day public comment periods before finalization. This action builds on prior Justice Department subpoenas targeting hospitals providing transgender youth care, which created a chilling effect across the healthcare system.

The administration’s effort follows executive orders issued in January declaring only two unchangeable sexes exist and barring federal funding to hospitals offering transition-related care to minors. In July, federal investigations prompted over 20 hospitals in cities including Los Angeles and Boston to roll back or eliminate gender-affirming programs. Families with transgender children, including the Gonzales family of Texas, have relocated outside the United States to access care, with Rachel Gonzales stating they became “political targets” despite the consensus of their physicians. An estimated 724,000 youth ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender; research shows fewer than 0.1% of adolescents with private insurance receive puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones.

On December 17, the House passed legislation introduced by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene that would charge doctors with felony charges punishable by up to 10 years in prison for providing gender-affirming care to minors—the harshest federal penalty ever enacted by the chamber. Representative Dan Crenshaw introduced a companion bill, expected for a House vote, to prohibit Medicaid coverage of transition procedures for anyone under 18. The Senate is expected to block both measures.

(Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/hhs-slash-funding-prohibit-access-trans-care-minors-rcna249874)