Attorney General Brown Wins Lawsuit Protecting Gender-Affirming Care For Youth In Maryland

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General shared the following press release:

BALTIMORE – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and a coalition of 22 states today secured a federal court order blocking an unlawful attempt by the Trump administration to threaten healthcare providers that provide care for youth with gender dysphoria. A federal district court issued a written opinion and judgment, granting the plaintiff states’ summary judgment motion.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for every young Marylander, all of whom deserve access to the medical care their doctor recommends that is free from political interference,” said Attorney General Brown. “We will never stop standing up for the health and dignity of transgender youth and the providers who serve them.”

On December 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a declaration asserting that certain forms of gender-affirming care are “unsafe and ineffective.” In the declaration, Secretary Kennedy attempted to give HHS the power to exclude healthcare providers from Medicare and Medicaid programs simply for providing care for transgender adolescents.

Attorney General Brown and the coalition immediately sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, arguing that Secretary Kennedy lacked the legal authority to issue the declaration, that HHS’s actions were arbitrary and capricious, and that the agency failed to adhere to the necessary procedural requirements for notice-and-comment rulemaking.

At the end of a summary judgment hearing last month, a federal judge agreed with the states and issued an oral ruling blocking the federal government’s threats. Today’s written opinion and judgment effectuate that prior ruling and protect healthcare providers and hospitals from the potentially destabilizing effects of HHS’s unlawful actions.

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