Oregon Judge Blocks HHS Enforcement on Minors' Gender Care

A federal judge in Oregon has blocked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing a declaration that deems gender-transition procedures for minors neither safe nor effective, ruling that the agency's leader exceeded his authority and bypassed required administrative processes.

U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai issued the preliminary injunction on Monday following a six-hour hearing in the case Oregon v. Kennedy. The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia, which argued that the December declaration by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unlawfully interfered with state-regulated medical practices. The ruling prevents the federal government from immediately penalizing hospitals and providers through measures such as exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid programs, granting temporary relief to those offering treatments including puberty-suppressing hormones, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries like mastectomies and vaginoplasties.

The declaration, a 12-page document, stated that such procedures "for children and adolescents are neither safe nor effective as a treatment modality for gender dysphoria, gender incongruence, or...