In a rare and controversial move, New York Attorney General Letitia James has ordered a Manhattan hospital to resume offering gender-transition treatment to transgender youth. NYU Langone had discontinued such treatments after funding threats from the Trump administration. It is now caught between the proverbial rock (HHS) and a hard place (NYAG).
Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order entitled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” seeking to restrict gender-transition treatment for people under 19. HHS then threatened hospitals with a cut off of federal Medicaid and Medicare funding for continuing such treatment for children.
Various European countries have also halted certain procedures after countervailing studies suggesting that the risks are too high. England’s National Health Service 2024 report on the subject, known as the Cass Report, found concerning evidence of harm for minors and inconclusive benefits.
James threatened “further action” if NYU Langone does not defy the Trump Administration, declaring that the cessation of its Transgender Youth Health Program violates New York anti-discrimination law by “jeopardizing access to medically necessary healthcare for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers.”
NYU Langone had previously declared that it would no longer provide certain gender-transition treatments for patients under the age of 19.
James’s move could trigger a fascinating challenge. In the Feb. 25 letter signed by the attorney general’s health care bureau chief, Darsana Srinivasan, the state said that the federal regulatory change did not affect a “medical institution’s existing duties and obligations under New York law.” That raises an interesting conflict between state and federal regulations.
The letter gives the hospital until March 11 to comply and resume these treatments.
Effectively, James is ordering the hospital to defy the federal government. However, the hospital, not James or the state, would bear the financial and regulatory consequences.
While James does not state how she will penalize the hospital, the letter is likely sufficient to challenge the move. The question is whether the political costs for the NYU hospital are prohibitive. There is also the question of whether the HHS has standing or interest in challenging the move as a direct threat to federal authority.
The problem with a federal challenge is that nothing in the New York threat prevents the federal government from carrying out its intent to cut off funding. Hospitals would have to choose between penalties in New York or loss of funding in Washington. Nevertheless, New York’s move is a direct attack on the enforcement of federal policy by state hospitals.
By what logic is gender transition surgery “medically necessary”?
Logic, shmogic. The AMA and other medical associations say it is “medically necessary.”
I think the problem is with the medical associations.
There are very rare cases where it is necessary. If you were around the blogosphere in its early years you will remember prominent blogger Alan Brain, who experienced a medical emergency that almost killed him, and required him to become Zoe Brain. It’s an extremely rare condition, but it exists and he/she had it.
Zoe is the same scientist that Alan was, with the same dedication to truth as it exists in the real world, regardless of how theory says it ought to exist; she had to accept the facts of her own medical experience and integrate them into her worldview.
But this is not the general case.
Letitia James decrees that bars must serve minors, stores must sell cigs to teens, strip clubs must admit 10 year old boys to enter and tattoo parlors must accept child customers. Oh, and kids can now contract as an adult.
Strange logic.
There is no evidence that New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued any such decrees. In fact, the search results indicate the opposite in several areas:
Minors in bars: The results do not mention Letitia James mandating that bars serve alcohol to minors. On the contrary, alcohol service laws typically require individuals to be at least 21, and James has not challenged those standards.
Cigarette sales to teens: There is no indication that James supports selling tobacco to minors. Federal and state laws, including those enforced in New York, generally prohibit tobacco sales to individuals under 21.
Strip clubs admitting children: The idea that James would require strip clubs to admit 10-year-old boys is not supported by any credible information. In fact, laws in multiple states, including Texas and Louisiana, have moved to raise the minimum age for workers and patrons at adult entertainment venues to 21 to combat exploitation and trafficking.
Tattoo parlors serving minors: The search results contain no information about Letitia James and tattoo regulations. However, most states require individuals to be 18 or older to get a tattoo, often without exception.
Letitia James has been active in protecting minors, including championing legislation to limit social media algorithms for children under 18 and defending gender-affirming care for youth. Her public actions focus on safeguarding children, not exposing them to adult-oriented services.
Look up sarcasm.
And yet she claims to believe that NY’s antidiscrimination law forbids protecting them from mutilation, which is far more harmful than any of those other things. Explain this, if you can.
Democrats are FASCISTS just like Dr Mengele
dims/glo-BAAL-ists are evil and insane
.
full stop
Mengele was an MD.
anyone harming or helping to harm children sex organs should be JAILED FOR LIFE
Doctors, Parents and NY AG!
I agree.
Anyone who authorizes or performs the genital mutilation of children deserves life in prison at a minimum..
That includes most Jewish parents.
That’s an ignorant and antisemitic statement. Brit milah is a protected religious rite, not mutilation. Calling Jewish parents criminals for practicing their faith is bigotry, plain and simple.
S. Meyer,
Well said. The annony just puts on display how ignorant it really is.
Religious bigotry is when a particular religious group claims that they have some special god-given right to mutilate the genitals of their minor children, while simultaneously denying the rights of other groups to authorize treatment of their minor children.
I could also point out the hypocrisy of those right wing extremists who constantly whine about government overreach in the private lives of citizens, while simultaneously demanding government intervention in private family decisions.
“Religious bigotry”
Religious bigotry? It’s been practiced throughout the world for more than 5,000 years, before the Jewish Bible, so it cannot be called religious bigotry. I won’t go into the medical reasons that exist. Are you upset that you were circumcised and they took too much off?
As a religious bigot, you are unfortunately very confused in your thinking, which is quite understandable.
You seem to think that I am opposed to circumcision. You also seem to think that I view the act of circumcision as bigotry in and of itself. Very confused thinking on your part. I have absolutely no problem with circumcision.
The problem is that religious bigots like you claim this form of genital mutilation as a special god-given right to perform on minor children, while simultaneously denouncing the rights of other groups to treat their minor children as they see fit without government interference.
Therein lies the hypocrisy and bigotry, but unfortunately you are unable to understand this, which is why you resort to personal insults as some form of self gratification for your bigoted views.
“As a religious bigot”
How? I am not forcing anyone, nor is it my policy to advise people about circumcising their young. As I said earlier, maybe they cut off too much of your favorite plaything, because all I hear are high-pitched screams.
I am not the topic. Why don’t you coherently write what you want to express? Circumcision is a personal matter.
Again, you entirely miss the point I am trying to make, because your pedantic, religious bigotry does not not allow you to think clearly.
You are absolutely correct when you say that “circumcision is a personal matter”. I could not agree more with that statement. Parents undeniably have that right to make a personal family decision to circumcise a child.
The point is that ALL private decisions of parents with regard to their minor children should also be “personal matters”. Unfortunately, you go beyond this claim of privacy and also claim circumcision as a special religious right beyond the reach of government control, while simultaneously demanding government controls that deny the rights of other parents to make personal, private decisions regarding their children.
As I said above, therein lies the hypocrisy and bigotry, but unfortunately you are unable to understand this, which is why you continue to resort to personal insults at an escalated level.
You are not engaging in a rational response to this criticism, because no rational response is possible, so you just continue to escalate your personal insults.
“The point is that ALL private decisions of parents with regard to their minor children should also be “personal matters”.”
OK. Thank you for telling us that you believe parents have the right to murder their twelve-year-old children. Gruesome, but that is what you are.
As I said, no rational response is possible to the criticism of your hypocrisy and religious bigotry, so you are forced to veer off into making wild, utterly absurd accusations.
Where exactly did I say that “parents have the right to murder their twelve-year-old children” ?
You are unhinged. You are a bigoted religious zealot.
You are now being deliberately obtuse because you know perfectly well that I am right and you are wrong.
You cannot logically claim that the medical procedure of circumcision is a private, personal, religious matter, while simultaneously denouncing the private medical decisions of other parents with regard to their children.
Murder is not a medical procedure in the mind of a rational, thinking individual, which clearly you are not.
You are a mindless hypocritical, religious bigot.
As usual, you got things wrong. I said: “OK. Thank you for telling us that you believe parents have the right to murder their twelve-year-old children.”
Amputating the foreskin is NOT mutilation. Amputating the penis IS. That’s just a simple fact, that you have to accept. Mutilation is not a term that you can just apply to anything you wish. Piercing the ears is not mutilation, and neither is circumcision. Both are normal and universally accepted cosmetic procedures. But removing the clitoris, let alone the entire genitals, is just as much mutilation as removing an arm.
Just shows how anti-Trump AG James is, whatever his admiration does –she’s against.
She is one repugnant, dishonest, deranged creature.
And the NY AG. Black too. And a woman. Got an issue with all that huh?
Johns Hopkins determined that there is no way to discern children who are mentally unstable (e.g. entertain abortive ideation of selfie or others) from homos, or others simply confused or dissatisfied with their body’s changes through puberty. Planned pubertyhood is another wicked solution with victims and collateral damage, but unlike planned parenthood, with forward-looking profits.
So much for Democrats pretending to “care about the children.” They are perfectly winning to sacrifice the health and safety of children on the altar of transexual extremism. The far left controls the Democrat party, and common sense restraint is completely gone.
Hospitals don’t perform surgeries. Surgeons perform surgeries. And if doctors that have taken an oath “To do no harm” would stop mutilating our children, James can demand all she wants, to no avail. But these oath taking doctors see dollar signs and convince themselves that they are doing God’s work.
The Government takeover of healthcare is almost complete!!!!!!!!!! The question is which Government??
Government has been in our medical system for a very long time.
I think its greatest entry into the medical system was shortly after WW2.
Doctors normally decide what procedures they perform based on their training, ethics, and medical judgment.
Anti-discrimination law means you cannot refuse a patient because of who they are. But that is different from forcing a doctor to perform a procedure they believe is medically inappropriate.
So the real legal question here seems pretty straightforward: is New York preventing discrimination, or is it compelling doctors to perform a procedure?
Preventing discrimination is one thing. Compelling medical practice is another.
And when citizens stop defending that line, government quietly (or loudly) moves it.
The real legal question you say? You’re not a lawyer anywhere, and and you’re certainly not a medical ethicist. Your prose is sophomoric, shallow and pompous.
😁 Good thing constitutional questions aren’t reserved only for lawyers.
If you think the distinction between preventing discrimination and compelling medical practice is wrong, explain why.
I disagree with your appraisal of Olly’s commentary. I am a lawyer licensed to practice in New York State. Moreover, many New Yorkers believe that Ms. James has squandered tax payer dollars for way too long.
Thanks Catherine. In a self-governing republic, citizens are expected to think about the Constitution too, not just outsource it to lawyers.
Dr. Mengele, yes. Dr. Gosnell et al, too.
Nazi comparisons usually appear when someone runs out of arguments.
The actual question remains whether government is preventing discrimination or compelling medical practice.
This kind of has the “forcing bakers to make cakes” feel to it. Is James going to be holding the hand of the surgeon as he performs his mutilation? I live in the state and I thought we were going to get rid of this nightmare AG. One of my biggest disappointments in President Trump has been the handling of the case against her. For the life of me, I don’t understand how she is able to be in her position.
It does have a little of that baker and the cake feel to it. The question ends up being whether the government is preventing discrimination or forcing someone to perform an act.
Doctors normally decide what procedures they perform based on their training, ethics, and medical judgment. Anti-discrimination law means you cannot refuse a patient because of who they are. But that is different from forcing a doctor to perform a procedure he believes is medically wrong.
This seems like one of those spaces where power gets filled by someone. Either citizens ask the questions and hold the line on where government authority stops, or government fills that space itself.
And history shows pretty clearly how that usually ends.
Well said. The AG is effectively telling the hospital to perform medical treatment that violates the standard of care which has now evolved as we learn of the harms attendant to transgender treatment for minors.
There is also a practical side to this. How long before malpractice carriers start adjusting premiums or declining coverage for doctors performing these procedures?
Insurance companies follow risk, and right now the legal and medical landscape looks pretty unsettled.
OLLY,
That is a good point.
Could we legally publish a weekly report of the type of surgeries and the names of the surgeons performing them. Not the patient names. These doctors who perform them are simply evil.
Publishing names of doctors probably just turns the whole thing into harassment and retaliation. That is not going to solve the legal question.
The real issue here is where the line is between regulating discrimination and compelling medical practice. That is the question courts will have to answer.
All homoa are trans. A minority are sims. Some are boys and girls who are confused or dissatisfied with their bodies while passing through puberty. Gender (i.e. sex-correlated attributes) corruption is either homophobic or a choice made under the Pro-Choice religion for social progress or forward-looking capital returns. #HateLovesAbortion
Homos are believed to transition in the mother’s womb around six weeks following conception through environmental corruption. Political congruence (“=”) is a bigoted principle under Diversity (e.g. racism, sexism) that discriminates between individuals in color and class blocs for sociopolitical leverage. Both homos and sims are in the transgender spectrum, but there is an effort to socially distance the latter under a novel banner and rhetoric.
Good to know what AI is saying nowadays.
Exactly!
That’s right. From now on, even if they change their minds, you better G. D. remove that kid’s wienerschnitzel or you gonna answer to me. Now start cutting. Get that thing out a here, NOW!
More proof. Libs leave the kids alone.
____________________
LAUSD Is Quietly Borrowing Another $250 Million to Settle Molestation Claims Against Teachers
More proof that dustoff has a thing for kids. Leave them alone dustoff.
So you admit. LA teachers (most are libs) want to have sez with kids.
Yeah fool, that you’re party.
DustOff said no such thing. Your projection is altering what you read. DustOff is calling for the protection of children from far-leftists who want to harm children.
Yeah Libs really care about our kids.
__________________________________
CA State Sen. Scott Wiener Says Children Will Die If Teachers Must Out Students to Their Parents
NOT!
Why is Letitia not in jail for morgage fraud?
Research it and get back to us.
You can prevent people from doing gender transitions. You can’t force people to do gender transitions. Leitia James fails to understand how the law works.
James is a lawyer, NY AG in fact. And she doesn’t know the law? You, an anonymous commenter who can’t think.
You’re an anonymous commenter as well. Why don’t you debate the first two sentences rather than throw in an ad hominem comment?
The parasitic Anonymous is an annoying little gnat.
“You can prevent people from doing gender transitions.”
On *children* you most certainly can. It’s called child abuse.
Oops. Sorry. I misread your comment.
Come on Man! Letitia don’t care about no stinkin Federal requirements when they come from Orange Man Bad! Leti only needs a few whack job Black Robe Illuminati to back her position of defiance-at-any-cost (to the hospital that is). Kalshi has odds Leti can find at least one Black Robe Nut Case to get this moving for a few years! NY the Dump continues its journey to Communist Nirvana. Haha.
“don’t care about no stinkin Federal requirements …” That’s the what Turley wrote. Good catch.
I strongly suspect that James’ initiative is purely cynical, that she is devoid of empathy for the cause to psychologically condition minors into undertaking medical and surgical procedures to nullify their biological genders in aim of simulating the opposite gender — she is demonstrating her willing to destroy innocent young lives in pursuit of her own selfish political objectives
Ah a wise commenter.
I have been observing the types of cases that Ms.James has brought over several years. As a New York State taxpayer, I have become increasingly concerned about the manner in which she has allocated resources. New Yorkers need to replace her.
This is sick! Leave our children alone!
Um… what about the children who WANT to transition? You would deny them that?
At what point do the parents stop having parental rights? What if a 12 year old wanted to become a pirate? Would he or she be able remove one eye and get a peg leg?
Asking for a friend (or a Supreme Court justice).
So children are chattel? Parents can force them to do their bidding? Beat them, force them to eat dog food, deny them basic rights.
Do you actually think all parents are good people? Many, like yourself, have proven to be incapable and incompetent in child raising, especially when you would force them to become a pirate and cut off their leg to fulfill your deranged imagination of what their childhood should be. Did you actually send them to pirate school?
Parasitic Anonymous has it backwards again. Hey parasite, we know you don’t have kids. Most likely never even had a date.
When a parent is unfit the child can be removed from their care. Recent scholarship here and in Europe indicates that Trans children are likely to change their minds after becoming adults. The % is north of 50. So since that is the case and the changes are irreversible it seems logical to prohibit those medications and procedures for those under 18.
If I recall correctly SCOTUS has already ruled that children DO NOT belong to the state and that the state’s interest in protecting children is very narrow.
Yes, just like we “deny” them the right to drink alcoholic beverages and participate in s*xual activity with adults. The age of consent means the age that a person can reasonably be expected to understand the consequences of his or her actions (con=with, sent=sense). Someone who is not legally mature enough to HAVE s*x is logically not mature enough to CHANGE s*x. On the other hand, logic is anathema to the left, so there’s that.
And what is legally mature? Each state has a different definition right. I suppose where you live (California) kids can marry at 15, and its therefore proper, deemed by the state as legally mature. Unbelievable that you refuse to spell out the word SEX. That says a lot about your mentality. Please tell us you don’t have children.
In California, there is no minimum age to get married. Minors under 18 can marry if they obtain written consent from at least one parent or legal guardian AND permission in the form of a court order from a Superior Court judge. There are no specific statutory age floors, but a judge must approve the marriage.
San Diego Superior Court (.gov)
San Diego Superior Court (.gov)
+4
They can wait till they are adults.
Children want a lot of things that are inappropriate for them. That’s why we have an age of majority. Throughout history until the 21st century the role of parents has been to make those decisions for their children. The state wants to usurp that role. We have enough examples coming out of blue states.
This demand by Letitia James reveals totally the Democratic quest for power. It has nothing to do with health care. It has everything to do with James defying Trump. Letitia James does not practice the law, she uses the law.
I wonder WHO is going to pay the bill , when these kids will start suing. Because the slice & dice failed to fix their mental issues.
Libs are sick.
And yet the mentally deranged New Yorkers continue to elect the mentally deranged Democrats. The inmates are really running the asylum.
So all NY’ers are sick? Wise old lawyer. Na… sick deranged ignorant more like it. Die soon.
Wiseoldlawyer,
For a lot of NY voters, just saying I will “Get Trump!!” is enough for them to vote for the stupid and crazy.
Bill? Come on dustoff. Think will you. Dustoff is stupid.
Who in the heck is Bill? To early to be drinking Ano.