President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered an end to all federal funding or support for healthcare that aids the transition of transgender youth, the latest in a series of actions limiting transgender rights in his first eight days in office.
The executive order, which is certain to face legal challenges, follows another executive order banning transgender people from service in the armed forces and others that appeal to Trump's most conservative supporters by limiting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The order fulfills a campaign promise to end "child sexual mutilation," an apparent reference to transgender-related healthcare such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy that help people transition from one gender to another.
"It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures," Trump's executive order said.
Trump supporters such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian law firm, applauded the order as "a refreshing return to sanity," while opponents such as Marci Bowers, a gynecologist and surgeon who provides transgender care, declared Trump would "have blood on his hands."
