Attorney General Ellison secures federal court order protecting gender affirming care

Ellison and coalition prevail on motion for summary judgment

March 20, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Ellison and a coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia yesterday evening secured a federal court ruling blocking an unlawful attempt by the Trump Administration to pressure healthcare providers into ending care for youth with gender dysphoria. At the conclusion of the March 19, 2026 hearing, the Court indicated from the bench that it would grant the States’ motion for summary judgment and vacate the declaration issued by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on December 18, 2025, which purported to supersede state standards of medical care and threatened hospitals and clinics that provide gender-affirming care with potential exclusion from Medicare and Medicaid.

"Gender-affirming care is healthcare, and healthcare decisions should be left up to doctors, their patients, and if the patient is younger, their parents or guardians,” said Attorney General Ellison. “States are responsible for licensing and regulating the medical profession, and professional associations like the American Medical Association, the Endocrine Society, and others like them, establish standards of medical care based on evidence-based research. The federal government should not be part of that equation, and there’s no room in Minnesota doctor’s offices for Donald Trump, RFK Jr., and other politicians that want to dictate what healthcare we can and cannot receive. I am pleased to have prevailed in my lawsuit to protect essential healthcare services that allows transgender individuals to be themselves and live with the same dignity that we all deserve."

On December 23, 2025, Attorney General Keith Ellison and the coalition filed a lawsuit to ensure U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. cannot threaten providers with a so-called “declaration” that baselessly and unlawfully attempts to limit access to gender-affirming care for young people. The declaration falsely claims that certain forms of gender-affirming care are “unsafe and ineffective” and threatens to punish any doctors, hospitals, and clinics that continue to provide it with exclusion from the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Attorney General Ellison and the coalition argued that this declaration violates federal law by unlawfully changing medical standards without going through the notice and comment process and undermining states’ long-standing authority to regulate medicine.

Joining Attorney General Ellison in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania.