United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order halting federal funding for gender-affirming care for LGBTQ youth.

The order, signed on Tuesday, bars the federal government from “funding, sponsoring, promoting, assisting, or supporting” gender transitions for individuals under the age of 19. It specifically targets medical treatments such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries.

In a statement accompanying the order, Trump asserted that gender-affirming care poses long-term health risks to minors. “Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding,” the order read.

The decision comes amid a politically charged debate in the US over transgender rights, with conservative lawmakers arguing that minors are not mature enough to make life-altering medical decisions, while LGBTQ rights groups and major medical associations advocate for access to gender-affirming care.

A Reuters analysis found that in 2021, approximately 4,230 minors received hormone therapy, while nearly 1,400 were prescribed puberty blockers. Additionally, 282 minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria underwent mastectomies.

Backlash from LGBTQ rights groups

Trump’s order has been condemned by LGBTQ advocacy organisations, including GLAAD, which described the move as “appallingly inaccurate, incoherent, and extreme.”

“Health care for transgender people is supported by every major medical association,” GLAAD said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s unhinged obsession with attacking transgender people and their health care does not reflect medical fact and does not represent the reality of trans people, youth, and their freedom to be themselves.”

Major US medical bodies, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, support gender-affirming care, viewing it as essential for the mental well-being of transgender youth. However, several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, and France, have recently imposed restrictions on such treatments, citing concerns over their long-term effects.

A landmark review commissioned by the UK’s National Health Service last year concluded that the evidence supporting medical interventions for gender dysphoria in youth was “remarkably weak,” recommending a cautious approach.

Trump’s order also directs federal agencies to cease relying on guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which the administration accused of promoting “junk science.” WPATH has yet to respond to the directive.