u/onnake

“Earlier this year, Miles Shore filed a lawsuit claiming he suffered irreversible harm after receiving gender-affirming care at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia roughly a decade ago.

“Then his lawyer received an email from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The feds wanted to know if Shore would be a potential witness in its investigation into how CHOP’s medical providers are prescribing puberty blockers and hormones.”

“The DOJ says it’s investigating off-label medication use and possible fraudulent billing by doctors.”

“Shore could be a crucial witness to reinvigorate the DOJ’s unsuccessful attempts to force CHOP to hand over private patient records, legal experts said.”

“At least eight federal district court judges nationwide have blocked the Trump administration from getting detailed patient records.”

“The DOJ is now finding a path forward in Texas.

“Rhode Island Hospital was ordered on Monday to turn over patient records for safekeeping by Fort Worth-based Chief District Judge Reed O’Connor, who previously sided with the DOJ that the hospital must comply with the administrative subpoena.

“And NYU Langone now faces a June 10 deadline to turn over its patient records under the grand jury subpoena issued by the Texas-based federal prosecutor.

“With the DOJ’s appeal dropped in the Philadelphia case, a federal prosecutor in Fort Worth or another far-away court could now seek to open a federal grand jury investigation targeting CHOP.”

“Seeking to become the Georgia legislature’s first openly transgender and nonbinary elected representative, Bentley Hudgins won their primary election Tuesday night.

“Hudgins, who uses they/them pronouns, is headed to a Nov. 3 general election against Samantha Boston in the heavily blue state House District 90. They defeated Leisa Stafford in Georgia’s nationally watched primaries on May 19, capturing 66% of the vote to Stafford’s 34%.”

“If they’re victorious, Hudgins also said they’d become the first Japanese-American to serve in the Georgia legislature.”

“Hudgins’ campaign was endorsed by the Georgia AFL-CIO, the Human Rights Campaign PAC, the Working Families Party, Georgia Equality, Georgia Conservation Voters, the LGBTQ Victory Fund and other organizations.”

“A lawsuit challenging Idaho’s transgender bathroom ban in K-12 public schools could end soon, after a group at Boise High School suing over the law dropped the case.”

“Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador hailed the case’s end in an announcement Thursday morning, saying the law ‘is fully in effect.’”

“But Labrador’s announcement did not address why the suing parties agreed to dismiss the lawsuit.”

“‘While I may never have certainty about all the things that ultimately led to Jane’s death, I know that one stressor in her life was her struggle to fit in socially as a transgender girl,’ according to the court record written by her mother, who was identified only as Janice Doe in the filing. 

“‘This stress of feeling alienated in her life was exacerbated by Jane’s exclusion from the girls’ restroom at school,’ her mother continued in the court record. ‘The option of a single-user restroom did not resolve her distress. Rather, it caused her to feel ostracized from others — ‘like I’m being treated as this other kind of thing’ — as she described in her supplemental declaration.’”

“In November, the student, Jane, wrote in a court document in the lawsuit about how Idaho’s law was affecting her. She used single-user restrooms at Boise High School, and often had to wait, she wrote. 

“‘… I fear that use of the single-user restroom has increased either the knowledge or suspicion of me being transgender against my wishes,’ Jane wrote. ‘I have heard students refer to the single-user restroom in the main gym building as the ‘trans bathroom.’’”

“The case was appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which in March 2025 rejected a longer block on Idaho’s law. 

“‘Applying intermediate scrutiny, the panel held that the State identified an important governmental objective — protecting bodily privacy — and that the State chose permissible means to achieve that objective,’a panel for the federal court ruled in March 2025.”

“Court filings said [the school’s deadnaming the child] drew attention to the student's transgender status and sparked verbal bullying that escalated to physical altercations in February and March 2024.

"’Despite Defendants' prior knowledge of the harassment and the subsequent assault, Defendants failed to take prompt and effective steps to protect Plaintiff or prevent further harm,’ the lawsuit said.

“The filing further said the student was later diagnosed with a concussion, potential traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, in addition to vision and hearing impairments, cognitive decline and difficulty maintaining educational progress.”

“In addition to [the Normal, Ill. school district] Unit 5, Chiddix Principal Mariana Nicasio and Unit 5 Executive Director of Student Supports Kristal Shelvin are named defendants in their official capacities within the district. According to Unit 5 attorney Curt Richardson, there can be no personal judgment against them. In March, Nicasio announced she is leaving her position at the end of the school year.”

“The court has not yet set a trial date.”

“What started as a widely backed proposal to locate a new Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum on the National Mall devolved into a partisan fight Thursday after Republicans revised the legislation to ensure no transgender people are included in the exhibits.

“The House rejected the bill, 204-216, an outcome that leaves the next steps uncertain. The revised bill also would ban a ‘diversity’ of views and give President Donald Trump the final say on where the museum would be located.

“‘It was a simple bill. You kind of ruined it with your trans obsession and your culture wars,’ Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Democrat from New Mexico and chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, said earlier in the week.”

“In the final tally, a handful of Republicans voted against the bill, joining Democrats who led the opposition. The chamber came to a standstill as GOP leaders scrounged for support from their ranks.

“Among the Republican opponents, some conservatives simply disapproved of a museum focused on women at all.”

“The turn of events puts at risk the long effort to open a museum in Washington dedicated to women. Legislation authorizing the museum was approved during Trump’s first term, in 2020, and this latest bill would secure its location on the National Mall.”

“Single-sex toilets and changing rooms in England, Wales and Scotland must exclude transgender men and women, according to a new code of practice from the equalities watchdog.

“But the long-awaited guidance also says that businesses and service providers have to offer practical alternatives such as gender-neutral toilets for people who do not wish to use services for their biological sex.”

“The guidance does suggest it is feasible for clubs and associations to remain trans inclusive, by making themselves open to several protected characteristics at once, for example women or men and trans people.

“But in healthcare, where mixed-sex accommodation is not available, trans patients must be accommodated on the single-sex ward that accords with their biological sex.

“But the code also states it would not be proportionate to exclude a trans man from obstetrics and gynaecology outpatient services based on the objections of female patients.”

“Many businesses have raised concerns that the required changes could undermine inclusion, and be unworkable, for example, in hospitality, where venues differ drastically in terms of size, space and age of buildings.”

“This cost would be borne by the business itself. When the Equality Act 2010 was passed, the impact assessment estimated costs in the first year alone could amount to more than £300m.”

“Disabled rights campaigners have previously told the Guardian they were watching “in horror” as the trans community faces similar toilet segregation and exclusion from public spaces that they do.

“The guidance states that while it is unlikely to be ‘practical or appropriate’ to question an individual using single-sex facilities, such as toilets, about their sex, it may be legitimate if concerns are raised about that person’s ‘physical appearance, behaviour or concerns raised by other service users’.”

“More than 60 advocacy organizations and businesses in Wisconsin are calling on the state’s top children’s hospitals to resume providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

“The letter, organized by LGBTQ+ civil rights group Fair Wisconsin, states that while gender-affirming care is legal in Wisconsin, it is ‘more and more difficult to access’ due to the decisions of UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin.

“The state’s two major children’s hospitals halted the services at the start of the year following efforts by the Trump administration to punish health care systems providing transition-related care, including puberty-blocking medications and hormone therapy.”

“The letter sent Thursday is not the only call for the two hospitals to resume care for transgender youth. The Trans & Gender Diverse Elected Officials Delegation, which includes members of local, state and federal governments, sent their own letter to the health care systems on Tuesday, saying members were ‘deeply disappointed’ with the decision to halt care and calling for the hospitals to reverse their decision.

“While Kennedy’s declaration is no longer enforceable, a proposed rule that would prohibit hospitals from receiving Medicaid and Medicare dollars if they provide transition-related care to minors is still moving through the federal rule making process.

“Children’s Wisconsin declined WPR’s request for an interview.”

“Since the federal court order, gender-affirming care has restarted or will restart at pediatric hospitals in other states. 

“Children’s Minnesota announced on April 6 that it had resumed services under its Gender Health program, after previously pausing the prescription of puberty-suppressing medications and hormones to patients under the age of 18.

“On Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered Children’s Hospital Colorado to resume providing gender-affirming care after the families of four transgender girls sued the hospitals for violating the state’s antidiscrimination law.”

“A draft decision released by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ office Thursday found the conservative referendum aiming to bar transgender girls from school sports fell roughly 500 signatures short of the total needed to make the 2026 ballot.

“Chief Deputy Secretary of State Kate McBrien issued the recommended decision following a hearing earlier this month, concluding that more than 12,000 signatures from registered Maine voters were invalid. The two sides have until Saturday to file objections. Bellows, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, must make a final ruling by Tuesday.”

“Bellows’ office approved the referendum effort for the ballot in March. But it was clear by April that the initiative was in trouble after the Democrat made a series of concessions during a court challenge by Mainers aligned with LGBTQ-rights groups fighting the initiative. A judge ordered the secretary of state’s office to hold hearings on the signatures.

“That revealed misconduct by petition circulators. Two circulators repeatedly left petition forms unattended at polling places on Election Day 2025, allowing voters to sign without a witness present, violating both Maine law and the circulators’ sworn oaths, according to McBrien’s ruling. All signatures they collected that day were recommended for invalidation.”

“President Donald Trump and his allies at the Federal Communications Commission want to take their war on LGBTQ people to a screen near you.

“The agency is weighing whether to add a warning label to television shows when transgender or nonbinary people are referenced in children’s programs.

“The FCC announced the proposed labeling in April, with the first round of public comments ending on May 22.

“The labels would be instituted by the TV Oversight Management Board, which sets ratings for programs.”

“The filing form to submit a public comment on the proposed warning label is here.”

“When a Marion County judge approved Rhye Carroll’s request to change the gender marker on her birth certificate in October 2025, she said it felt like a weight had lifted. For her, as a transgender woman, it was the culmination of hard work — her legal documents would finally match who she is.

The case was sealed and closed.”

“But Carroll learned the case was unexpectedly reopened.

“In April — six months after the Marion Superior Court issued the order — the court told her the judge granted a motion from the Indiana Attorney General’s office to intervene in the closed case and argue to reverse the order.

“‘Honestly, I don’t understand how a government entity has that right to even question a judge’s orders,’ said Carroll, an Indianapolis resident. ‘I feel for every gender-diverse person in Indiana, because clearly this isn’t a safe place for us.’

“For transgender Hoosiers who won court approval to change their birth certificates and other records, those orders may not be final. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's office has been filing motions to undo them — intervening in closed, sometimes sealed cases in which the state was never a party, and in at least one instance a year after a judge ruled.

“The office submitted motions to intervene in seven gender marker change cases, the Indiana Lawyer reported in August 2025. Carroll's case is one of at least two additional interventions WFYI confirmed beyond those seven. Rokita's office did not respond to questions about how many interventions it has pursued or the outcomes of those cases.

“The ACLU of Indiana is representing Carroll. Legal director Ken Falk declined to discuss specific cases, but said the attorney general’s office is convincing trial courts it has standing to reopen cases it was never a part of.”

“A federal appeals court in Boston on May 19 refused to block Rhode Island Hospital from turning over to a Texas judge medical records for young patients being treated for gender dysphoria.

“The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Rhode Island Child Advocate’s request for an injunction barring the hospital from producing five years of records on gender-affirming care recipients to U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Northern Texas. 

“The three-judge panel found that the Child Advocate had not shown that its interests would suffer irreparable harm if the hospital released anonymous records to a court – ‘particularly one that has assured the parties that the records will not be disseminated unless and until the parties' appeals are resolved.’

“Rhode Island Child Advocate Katelyn Medeiros, who represents the legal interests of children in state care, sought to block the hospital after O’Connor, on May 18, ordered the hospital to produce the sensitive health records so he could view and secure them privately.”

“The records would not be released to an adverse party under O’Connor’s order, the 1st Circuit emphasized. Instead, it would be held by the court in Northern Texas pending the outcome of an appeal.”

“O’Connor has enjoined Rhode Island Hospital from seeking relief in courts outside the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which handles Texas appellate matters, or the U.S. Supreme [Court].”

“Seven other courts across the country have quashed similar subpoenas issued to other medical providers.”

“The Trump administration on Tuesday launched an investigation into Washington state’s practice of housing transgender women in its women’s prison.”

“A state Department of Corrections spokesperson said the agency was notified of the investigation Tuesday morning and plans to cooperate with the Department of Justice.

“‘DOC remains committed to upholding the rights and providing a safe environment for all incarcerated individuals in our custody,’ spokesperson Chris Wright said.

“The women’s prison currently holds 20 transgender prisoners, while there are 347 transgender or non-binary individuals held across all state prisons, Wright said.”

“The Department of Corrections has faced several legal complaints over similar concerns.”

“The state has also dealt with American Civil Liberties Union-backed litigation in recent years over keeping a transgender woman in a men’s unit. A state appellate court denied the woman’s challenge last year.

“‘The Department of Justice’s announcement that it is launching an investigation into placement of transgender women at the Washington Correction Center for Women represents another troubling move by the federal government to target transgender people,’ the ACLU’s Washington chapter said in a statement Tuesday.”

“Meanwhile, the state’s prison watchdog has taken issue with the Department of Corrections placing transgender prisoners in restrictive units for weeks or months at a time while trying to find alternative housing for them due to safety concerns. Some have reported this practice feels more punitive than protective.”

“Lithuania remains one of the worst-performing countries in Europe on transgender rights protection, according to an international index released last week.

“Transgender Europe (TGEU), an international advocacy group, published its latest 2026 Trans Rights Map, which evaluates the legal status of transgender individuals across 49 European and five Central Asian countries.

"’For many years, Lithuania has failed to adopt clear regulations for trans people that comply with human rights. Politicians constantly talk about respect for the individual, but in reality, some people are still forced to live in legal limbo,’ said Martynas Norbutas, editor of the GayLine portal.

“Countries are assessed based on 32 criteria, with Lithuania meeting only five. Iceland topped the index by fulfilling 30 criteria, followed by Spain and Malta. These three countries are the only ones in Europe that TGEU considers to have fully depathologised trans identities within their healthcare systems.

“In Europe, only Romania, Hungary and Turkey rank lower than Lithuania. Lithuania's score is on par with Belarus, while neighbouring countries performed better: Poland met 11.5 criteria, Latvia seven, and Estonia 15.

“The Trans Rights Map assesses national laws and policies across various sectors, including legal gender recognition, protection against discrimination, hate crimes, asylum, health, and family rights.”

“AB Hernandez found out the California Interscholastic Federation was bringing back a controversial scoring policy for track and field events with transgender competitors, the same way many teens learn important news: checking her phone.

“‘We were driving home when AB checked the app, and she’s like, ‘They’re doing it again,’’ her mother, Nereyda Hernandez, told KQED.

“For much of the spring, how the CIF planned to handle this year’s track championship season had been an unknown.

“Last year, the state’s high school athletics governing body piloted the rule, which allowed an additional competitor to advance and earn a medal in events in which a transgender girl competes and places, after months of anti-trans backlash against Hernandez’s participation.”

“‘Because they had only mentioned it was going to be for the championships, we didn’t think we’d have to deal with it again,’ Hernandez said last week. Finding out that the policy would be reinstated, she said, ‘crushed [AB’s] heart.’

“‘She missed school on Monday. I don’t think she’s going to school [Friday],’ Hernandez continued. ‘It’s just been hard.’”

“After this past weekend’s meet, images of AB sharing the podium with another athlete at the regional finals were circulated by conservative activists on social media, who claimed the policy stole medals from cisgender girls.”

“More than half of the states have adopted policies restricting transgender student athletes’ participation in sports, and the Supreme Court seems poised to uphold those bans this summer.

“At the same time, Hernandez said the policy minimizes athletes like her daughter.

“‘It’s kind of like she’s nonexistent,’ she told KQED. ‘She puts in the work, she participates, but she wants to be honored. She wants to be acknowledged as the person, the athlete she is.”’

“Before the finals on Saturday, Hernandez said her daughter told her, speaking of the policy: ‘It’s like they see me, but they see past me or through me.’”

“The statewide finals are planned for May 28 and 29 in Clovis.”

“Texas is arguably the most frightening place in the country for families of transgender children. The state’s GOP leadership, often in partnership with the Trump administration, has threatened to take children away from their families, chased physicians out of the state and attacked children’s hospitals. Fearing for their safety, many families have fled. In 2022, one mother of a transgender daughter warned, ‘This is a crisis … we have political refugees in the U.S., leaving with whatever they can fit in their car.’”

“As part of this ongoing focus on transgender youth, the state, in partnership with the Justice Department, held a yearslong investigation of Texas Children’s Hospital, focusing on the medical center’s treatment of transgender youth. On Friday, the DOJ and Texas Children’s Hospital announced they had reached a settlement.

“While denying any wrongdoing, the hospital agreed to pay $10 million and fire five physicians who provided gender-affirming care to adolescents. The settlement also includes an unexpected provision: The hospital will fully fund a ‘detransition clinic.’

“As a physician-scientist, I am always in favor of expanding support for patients and collecting more research. I genuinely hope this new clinic will support young people and advance the science of pediatric gender care. But we need to be honest about what the science shows: When offered under current guidelines, regret following gender-affirming medical care for adolescent gender dysphoria is rare. In many states, ‘detransition’ is not a personal medical decision; it is forced upon people by the law.”

“Details are scant on what this Texas Children’s Hospital clinic will entail. The hospital has said it ‘will formalize the supportive, multidisciplinary services [they] already deliver to all patients who need [their] care.’ However, under the settlement, the hospital appears to have fired the very physicians with expertise in this area. The state outlawed the only evidence-based treatment for gender dysphoria. The most common ‘detransition’ patients they will likely see are those who have been harmed by the state taking away their medical care.”

“The question is not whether people who have detransitioned deserve care. They of course do. The real question is whether clinical care and research in the U.S. will remain guided by evidence and compassion — or by political ideology.”

“Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has resigned from his role in order to join the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) – a powerful anti-LGBTQ+ hate group responsible for thousands of pieces of anti-transgender legislationacross the country.”

“During his seven-year tenure as Ohio’s 51st Attorney General, Yost has been a vocal supporter of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation at the Ohio Statehouse, including the state’s current ban on gender-affirming health care for transgender youth.

“Overall, Yost said his political and religious values align well with the hate group’s goals.”

“. . . ADF has been crafting model legislation designed to ban gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adults for more than decade.”

“Founded in 1994 by several prominent members of the Christian right, ADF has battled ‘the radical homosexual agenda’ for more than three decades. . .”

“In 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)included ADF on their list of anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups for the first time. ADF has appeared on the list every year since.”

“A federal judge in Fort Worth, Texas, is demanding Rhode Island Hospital still hand over the medical records of transgender children and teens, despite an order from a Rhode Island judge last week blocking a subpoena from the Department of Justice.

“Judge Reed O’Connor ordered Monday that Rhode Island Hospital turn over the records to him, rather than the DOJ, by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. Central Time. That would not violate Rhode Island Judge Mary McElroy’s decision against the Trump administration, O’Connor wrote in an order Monday, as long as he does not share the records with the Justice Department.”

“O’Connor also ordered Rhode Island Hospital not to ‘cooperate’ with any other entities that are seeking to block the subpoena. The Rhode Island Child Advocate’s office had initially asked McElroy to squash it.

“‘I have never seen an order like this,’ said Kevin Love Hubbard, an attorney for the Child Advocate’s office.

“That office, led by Katelyn Medeiros, successfully sought to block the subpoena, arguing it violated the constitutional rights of the children and teens who would be outed as transgender to the federal government.”

“The DOJ said the underlying criminal investigation is taking place in Texas, which is why it was filed there. Multiple other federal courts, including in Boston, have blocked efforts to get the records from other hospitals.”

“The Justice Department is appealing McElroy’s decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.”

“Hubbard said the Child Advocate’s office would look into what legal recourse they have to make sure the records were not released.

“‘The child advocate is not a party to the Texas proceeding and never has been,’ Hubbard said. ‘The child advocate has an obligation to protect the constitutional rights of children in Rhode Island. The Texas court never considered those rights.’

“‘We intend to continue fighting to protect those constitutional rights,’ Hubbard said.”

“Memorials are growing for a beloved New Mexico School for the Arts graduate who was violently stabbed to death in Seattle.

“Vigils for Juniper Blessing were set up in Santa Fe – and Seattle, where Blessing studied atmospheric science at the University of Washington. Police arrested 31-year-old Christopher Leahy for the deadly stabbing last Sunday night inside a university laundry room. Leahy’s own family turned him in after investigators released surveillance images.”

“These details raised anxiety within the trans community despite there being a suspect in custody.

“‘Scary and it’s especially scary because it feels like nobody cares about us,’ one person said.

“Blessing graduated from the New Mexico School for the Arts in 2024. The school shared a song on social media Blessing performed while they were a student there.”

“San Francisco has for decades been a haven for LGBTQ+ people fleeing unaccepting families and conservative hometowns.

“But as the national political climate grows increasingly hostile to gay, lesbian, and trans people, city leaders expect more people to come in search of refuge.

“In response, San Francisco officials are moving to codify the city’s long-standing role as a refuge for LGBTQ+ Americans, introducing legislation that would shield residents from being penalized for out-of-state convictions tied to gender-affirming care, abortion, or drag performance — an effort to counter a growing wave of laws criminalizing those activities elsewhere in the U.S.”

“‘We’re taking proactive steps so that when people are discriminated against, the discrimination doesn’t follow them here,’ [San Francisco’s Office of Transgender Initiatives director Honey] Mahogany adds.”

“It’s difficult to quantify the number of red-state refugees, but Mahogany estimates that 400,000 LGBTQ+ Americans may have already uprooted their lives in search of safety.

“Mutual aid organizations have sprung up in the community over the past year, with many providing relocation assistance. And San Francisco isn’t the only major city preparing for a population influx. Seattle has received so many refugees that its city government is considering a state of emergency to grapple with the scale of the problem.”