President Trump recently signed a slate of executive orders (EOs), many of which endanger the health, well-being, and safety of underserved communities, including transgender people. These orders have sought to redefine sex and sex-based discrimination for federal policy purposes to exclude transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people (Executive Order 14168) and ban best-practice medical care for transgender people under age 19 (Executive Order 14187).
Many of the provisions in these EOs cannot take effect immediately, as implementation often requires regulatory rulemaking, administrative guidance, and other procedural steps that may take months or years. The policy directives outlined in these EOs, however, are already having swift and significant effects on the everyday lives of millions of people.
This article for Health Affairs, co-written (with others) by Caroline Medina, Director of Policy and Sara Mar, Advocacy and Comms Strategist, at The Institute for Health Research & Policy at Whitman-Walker, examines the potential impacts of these orders on transgender health across key policy areas.
