Judge questions Trump policy forcing HIV providers to disregard transgender patients

A federal judge has cast doubt on whether a restriction the Trump administration placed on federal grant funding for HIV care providers, blocking them from discussing gender identity openly, is legal.

During a hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William Young of Massachusetts appeared open to blocking the policy, which prevents providers that receive certain federal funds for HIV care from acknowledging transgender identities in their policies or providing patients with gender-affirming care, according to Reuters.

"Where does he get off issuing this?" Young asked regarding Trump during the hearing, Reuters reported.

Related: Trump's anti-transgender executive orders force CDC to remove HIV resources

In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that aimed to eliminate federal funding toward “gender ideology extremism,” a term he used to describe the inclusion of trans identity in government policies and uses of federal funding.

That order had sweeping effects, requiring federal agencies to remove policies around gender identity and limiting trans people’s access to passports, Social Security records, and government documents that align with their gender. Federally funded institutions like many schools, shelters, and healthcare centers were similarly required to eliminate policies aimed at inclusivity for transgender Americans, The Advocate previously reported.

But the judge said that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services policy ordering physicians at health facilities funded by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to bar them from using the correct pronouns for trans patients may interfere with doctor-patient relationships, Reuters reported, “even as a matter of empathy.”

Related: Trump administration erases mentions of LGBTQ+ & HIV resources from government websites

The judge, appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, also suggested the policy may impose an illegal burden on free speech rights against medical providers.

A group of healthcare providers and medical associations for HIV care brought the lawsuit.

“For transgender people living with HIV, being respected by a provider is not incidental to care; it is part of what makes care accessible and effective,” said Jose Abrigo, counsel and HIV project director at the civil rights organization Lambda Legal, which is representing the plaintiffs, in a press release Wednesday. “These new restrictions put politics ahead of our nation’s efforts to end the HIV epidemic.”

Related: Doctors ask judge to halt Trump policy targeting trans people living with HIV

Professional medical groups agree.

For providers, “this restriction creates an impossible choice: comply with federal funding requirements or fulfill their duty of care to their clients,” said Bruce Packett, executive director of the American Academy of HIV Medicine, in the press release. “My hope is that the court understands the stakes involved and the overreach that the administration is attempting.”