Military families sue Trump administration over gender-affirming care ban

Three military families are suing the Department of Defense over a policy that prevents military clinics or insurance from covering gender-affirming care.

The case, Doe v. Department of Defense, was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law) and the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR) on behalf of three servicemembers and their families. The plaintiffs, who are using pseudonyms, had obtained the care for their transgender children through the military health system for over a decade before the Trump administration prohibited it.

“President Trump has illegally overstepped his authority by abruptly cutting off necessary medical care for military families,” Shannon Minter, Legal Director at NCLR, said in a statement. “This lawless directive is part of a dangerous pattern of this administration ignoring legal requirements and abandoning our servicemembers.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a rule in February banning gender-affirming medical care for trans service members as well as preventing new enlistments of individuals with a history of gender dysphoria, which stated, “Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused, and all unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for service members are paused."

Hegseth's orders were temporarily blocked by a federal court in April, with the judges finding the restrictions to be unconstitutional. Despite this, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Stephen Ferrara issued a decision in May to move forward with the restrictions.

The Pentagon policies came alongside Donald Trump's executive order banning trans troops from serving in the military altogether. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the administration to enforce the ban while lawsuits against it are heard.

“This is a sweeping reversal of military health policy and a betrayal of military families who have sacrificed for our country,” said Sarah Austin, Staff Attorney at GLAD Law. “When a servicemember is deployed and focused on the mission they deserve to know their family is taken care of. This Administration has backtracked on that core promise and put servicemembers at risk of losing access to health care their children desperately need.”