A Rock and a Hard Place: NY AG James Orders Hospital to Resume Gender-Transition Treatment for Minors

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.

 

166 thoughts on “A Rock and a Hard Place: NY AG James Orders Hospital to Resume Gender-Transition Treatment for Minors”

  1. Unfortunately you MAGA morons are extremely confused in your thinking, which really goes without saying.

    The overriding issue here is not whether gender affirming care should be allowed.

    The issue is government interference in the private lives of families. You MAGA morons are constantly whining about “big government” interference in the private lives of citizens.
    What happened to the conservative dogma of “small government” and the rights of citizens to be left alone and live their lives free of government control.
    Where does the government get its authority to interfere in the private decisions of parents concerning their minor children.

    You are constantly complaining about government interference in the rights of parents with regard to the public education system, and yet you have no problem with government interference in private family medical decisions.
    You can’t have it both ways.

    1. Actually, conservatives and liberals alike should agree that the government should not allow hospitals to do harm. This is a long-standing practice. We don’t allow people to give mercury treatments for colds anymore, which they used to do 100 years ago. These treatments you’re referring to are not helpful. There’s no evidence that they are and in fact, there’s plenty of evidence that they do significant and permanent harm. They should be banned. Just like we banned giving mercury for snotty noses

    2. A schoolbus skids on ice and tumbles into a ravine. At least one child needs a blood transfusion, but her parents are Jehovah’s Witnesses and forbid it. In Annoyance’s world, this choice is an intimate family matter, and the child dies.
      Alternatively, the son of Christian Scientists is diagnosed with leukemia. Chemotherapy would indicate a lack of faith in God, so they call a Christian Science Practitioner to care for him. This is an intimate family matter, so this child dies, too

    3. Referring to the last paragraph. So educating a child according parental permission, and cutting of children’s genitals, with parental permission, is your perfect analogy? And MAGA is moronic you say?

  2. This comment section is turning into name-calling and analogies, but Turley’s actual point is a clean legal one.

    NYU is stuck between two governments. Washington is using federal money to pressure hospitals. New York is using state anti-discrimination law to pressure hospitals. Either way, the hospital eats the consequences. So here are the real questions worth debating:

    – Can a state use civil rights law to effectively compel a hospital to offer a specific medical program?

    – Where is the line between preventing discrimination and compelling medical practice?

    – If the “standard of care” is disputed, who decides, doctors and medical boards or politicians and AGs?

    – What happens when malpractice carriers price this uncertainty, do premiums spike or coverage disappears?

    If you want to argue policy, fine. But if you want to argue the Constitution, argue those questions. Targeting individual doctors or tossing Nazi labels is just noise.

    1. OLLY

      All these points you raise are merely peripheral to the real question.

      The real question is why does the government have a right to interfere in the private decisions of parents regarding their minor children.
      The points you raise only become relevant if you believe that the government does have that right.

      If you believe that the government does have that right, then you have to rationalize that with regard to the conservative dogma of “small government” and the right to be left alone.
      I have absolutely no interest in the private decisions of parents regarding their minor children, and make no assertions whatsoever about the ethics of gender affirming care.
      It is absolutely none of my business, and should absolutely not be the business of government.

      You either believe in small government and the right to be left alone, or you don’t.

      1. That’s a good comment, thank you.

        I think the better starting point is the purpose of government itself. The Declaration says governments are instituted to secure the inalienable rights of the people.

        So if government steps into a dispute like this, the real question is simple: which rights are being protected, which rights are being violated, and by whom?

        Are the rights of the child at issue? The rights of the parents to direct the upbringing and care of their children? The rights of doctors to exercise professional judgment or conscience? Or the state’s authority to regulate medicine and prevent discrimination?

        Once you start naming the rights and the parties involved, the constitutional boundaries become a lot clearer.

    2. Okay, so you just rewrote Turley’s opinion.
      Argue the Constitution? Are you a constitutional lawyer? Should we argue here or in front of SCOTUS?

      1. You don’t need a law license to read the Constitution. Citizens are supposed to think about where government power begins and ends.

        Courts settle disputes, but a self-governing people shouldn’t wait for lawyers and judges to explain their rights after the line has already been crossed.

  3. The basic problem with the whole “trans kid” thing is “How do you know the kid is actually trans?” The left has declared that as soon as a kid says their trans, that’s the end of the story and full surgical transition should begin immediately. But the reality is that kids are often confused, don’t understand the full ramifications, and are very prone to suggestion or social contagion. This is why we don’t let children make life-altering decision like this.

    Another common lie is “It’s all reversible”, which is simply disinformation. It’s not reversible.

    Something for anyone who is in favor of transing kids: I read a post in a detransitioners forum a while back, asking “How long after I stop taking T (testosterone) before my breasts grow back?” Will you volunteer to be the one that has to look that young woman in the eyes and tell her “Breasts don’t grow back.” Are you willing to be the one that has to tell her that those butchers mutilated her for the rest of her life? That mutilating her was worth it for your own personal virtue signaling.

    And anyone that thinks mastectomy isn’t a big deal, talk to some breast cancer survivors some time.

    1. “The left has declared that as soon as a kid says their trans…” And what to do when a parent ‘decides’ their kid is the wrong gender and forces the “treatments” upon a child that can’t, obviously, make an informed decision on their own?

  4. Eventually the lawyers and insurance companies will get involved and mutilating minors will become too expensive. If you do these operations you better have deep pockets.

    1. Difficult to know something that doesn’t really exist. There is no such thing as transgender. There is gender dysphoria. No one is really the wrong sex

  5. Dear Mr. Turley, it seems to me that this “gender affirming care” cannot be considered “care” at all. These children are in desperate need of help with their identity as they were born with male or female. First as a human being created by a loving God. Second, that they are a unique human with gifts and talents the world is in desperate need of. Third, it takes time to find out these gifts and talents and to be patient in learning life’s lessons. I cannot think of a worse evil than to perform a life altering surgery on a child trying to change them to the opposite sex. It doesn’t work.

  6. I’m pretty sure Federal Law, coming from the President of the United States carries A LOT more weight than something coming from a State Attorney General and especially one that is deep trouble of her own.

  7. Two wrongs don’t make it right.

    Even if you agree with Trump’s politics, coercing a person or agency or private business used to be a federal crime.

    Trump (not Congress and not judges) is imposing his political views on a private business by misappropriating federal tax dollars.

    What could a future Democrat do with this illegal precedent created by Trump?

  8. The peer-reviewed HHS report on gender dysphoria concluded that the risks of sex rejecting treatments for those under 18 outweighed the benefits and that they are unethical. If I were Langone I would disregard the AG and let her challenge them in court.

  9. At the very minimum, it seems that only parents (not government) should be able to make that decision for their children.

    Although a strong LGBTQ+ supporter, unless there is solid evidence to the contrary it seems that the minimum age should be 21 years old before a child makes a lifelong irreversible medical decision. If it is allowed younger, parents should have the final say.

    This is irreversible surgery, unlike a pierced ear or tattoo. Young children shouldn’t be making this lifelong decision.

    1. @Anon:

      Not sure what you’re saying here. The reality is the effective castration granted by ANYONE dominating the underage “plaintiff” doesn’t seem to be an ethical choice. Nor would the same granting the “plaintiff” the right to murder someone else to ease their emotional trauma.

      Intuition seems to support the “plaintiff” should be able to exercise their own “trans” rights – at the moment they become a legal adult and are no longer subject to parental or other age restriction to do so – but NOT required to do so while in a dominated position thereof.

  10. “. . . New York Attorney General Letitia James has ordered a Manhattan hospital to resume . . .” (JT)

    Just when you think the Left’s barbarism cannot go any lower —

    It compels doctors to mutilate a child’s genitals.

    1. The state can not compel a physician to perform a service for which the physician believes he or she is not sufficiently competent to perform. There is no requirement from the New York State Office of the Professions for all physicians to supply evidence of continuing medical education in gender transition and its provision in order to be licensed or relicensed. No matter what Letitia James says, whether this pediatric barbarism resumes and/or continues at NYU or elsewhere in New York State is solely up to physicians. In light of the recent $2 million award from a New York jury awarded to an adult woman who had a double mastectomy when she was 16 y/o, and in light of guidance from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons to not support gender transition of children younger than 19 years, I suspect that the cost of malpractice insurance would be so prohibitive, if it could be found at all, that no physician in their right mind would resume the practice.

  11. “James threatened “further action” if NYU Langone does not defy the Trump Administration”

    Are the Dems now forcing people to work? Isn’t that slavery, something all Dems, including James, should be familiar with?

    1. Slavery? You just won the stupid comment of the day award. Your prize will arrive by mail in 30 days. Great job! Keep it up.

      1. Merriam Webster:

        Slavery: the state of a person who is forced usually under threat of violence to labor for the profit of another

        Stupidity is in your court along with many other Democrats. Forcing a physician to remove a breast because Democrats like neutering children is a type of slavery.

        1. So during America’s slavery era, slave owner’s physicians cut off breasts? That’s definitely sounds like slavery alright!

          Slavery:
          1. The condition in which one person is owned as property by another and is under the owner’s control, especially in involuntary servitude.
          2. The practice of owning slaves.
          3. A mode of production in which slaves constitute the principal work force.

          Source: American Heritage Dictionary. At least I’m using a dictionary, you some guy off the street.

  12. Anonymous says what if the children want to be transitioned? Can you deny them that?
    It is scientifically understood that a child’s brain is not fully developed.
    All of Anonymous’s work to groom the kids will come to naught if the government says no more
    transitioning. It’s a sad day for Anonymous.
    You might say over the top Thinkitthrough? If so, let me remind you that when books that depicted ten
    year old boys having oral sex were removed from school libraries in Florida Anonymous compared it to book burning. Anonymous hates it when her fun is taken away. She tells you who she is every day.

    1. TiT,
      Well said and spot on!! Grooming children is not “medically necessary.” It is straight up evil.

    2. Not fully developed… so leave it to science? That’s your argument?
      Recall for the last 6 years that’s the same argument liberals’ use and still use, to force vaccines on America. Now you repeat it. That makes you a a liberal. Right? And can you source all those anon accusations please. Playing the strawman argument with yourself is about as convincing as declaring that science trumps all arguments. Please think through your so called arguments before posting.

  13. Not supporting it, but [Question?]:
    What percentage of Individuals of the local population actually receive this procedure?

    >2% or Less? | >1% or Less? | >0.5% or Less? | >0.10% or Less? | >0.02% or Less?

    If the numbers are low, then it appears that the issue is insignificant to be an issue.

  14. Ever doubt the far leftists are evil, promoting the mutilation of children, doubt no longer.

    1. Never doubt the white supremacists who approved the mutilation of children happen. They let it happen. How evil and sick can they be.

    2. Absolutely correct.
      Anyone advocating the genital mutilation of children is evil.

      Obviously that includes most Jewish parents.

      1. This troll likes to write two or three times in a row. It is a way for a lonely outcast to make believe he has friends.

          1. Says the farmer who couldn’t make it into a community college, at the least and now professes absolute scientific knowledge.

        1. Simply pointing out the inherent hypocrisy of those who decry genital mutilation of children is not trolling.
          It is simply pointing out the obvious.

          If there is no problem with Jewish parents authorizing the “genital mutilation” of their minor children, then what is the problem with other parents authorizing the “genital mutilation” of THEIR minor children.

          You can’t have it both ways, unless of course you are a religious bigot who believes that you have a special “religious right” above and beyond the rights of others.

          1. “Simply pointing out”

            If you are pointing out that you are simple, fine, but a better use of your time would be to write one better comment than 2-3 stupid ones.

            1. S. Meyer, why don’t you try to rationalize the inherent hypocrisy, and religious bigotry, of claiming a special religious right to mutilate the genitals of minor children, while simultaneously denouncing the rights of other groups to treat their minor children as they wish.

              And while you are at it, maybe you can rationalize why you believe that we should have a small conservative government that stays out of the private lives of its citizens, while simultaneously demanding government control of private family matters.

              Obviously you can’t rationalize it, which is why you resort to personal insults

          2. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced across diverse cultures, primarily in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, as well as within diaspora communities in Europe, North America, and Australia. It is not confined to any single religion or ethnic group.

            1. In practice, is carried out solely in Muslim countries. Some places its purely symbolic, like Malaysia.

        2. This troll likes to write two or three times in a row. … um Meyer, its sure smells like you. Pretty bored huh?

            1. Garbled words in a row is content? Like this one: “simple, simply ignorant? Damn poetic!

  15. Is there legislation that enables the NYSAG (a true POS) to order a medical provider to offer elective procedures? Sounds odd, like forcing a clothing company to sell tucking bathing suits for kids unfortunate enough to have insane virtue signalling parents.

      1. Learn to read. Forcing nonessential, deviant behavior using government power is the analogy.

    1. OldFish,
      As we noted yesterday, that is the difference between the far leftists and the sane and normal people. They want to force everyone into believing their crazy. We say, “Ah, no thanks. You can keep that. We want no part of it.”

  16. Calling it “maybe the greatest honor in the world, quite frankly,” Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that the International Criminal Court in The Hague has invited him to receive “a special award.”

    “They said it was in response to things I’ve done in Iran,” Trump told reporters. “It will probably be some kind of medal or maybe a gleaming gold trophy.”

    Trump revealed that he will not be The Hague’s sole honoree, noting, “They also invited Bibi. They said he deserves special recognition.”

    Calling The Hague invitation “much better than a stupid Nobel,” Trump quipped, “They never invited Obama!”

      1. Wanna bet dustoff couldn’t Hague if you pointed to on a map. He’s got two collage degrees.

  17. From a legal point of view, I am not sure the NY AG can force a hospital to provide surgical and hormonal services for Trans minors. The physicians have to be willing to do this but they may be gun shy in light of the momentum gaining against Trans surgeries. Secondly the physicians may curtail their activities because of rising chances of being sued for malpractice. In a state like NY I would suspect malpractice settlements could be huge. I don’t know the legal framework there but I would suspect the limits on medical malpractice awards are slight.
    The hospitals could also suffer under a huge malpractice judgement in Trans Surgery or Hormone manipulation. Traditionally the hospitals where the “injury” occurs get sued because their Board has given the physicians on the staff privileges to practice there. Also the hospitals have deep pockets and are therefore targets of opportunity for malpractice litigators.
    Is the NY AG going to guarantee the hospital’s malpractice coverage by malpractice insurers and re-insurers? That may be the biggest question. As the dominoes fall in professional medical societies not supporting trans surgery and hormonal manipulation in minors, malpractice coverage will likely be the major determining factor as to whether hospitals continue to support this controversial program.
    Lots of questions to be answered. If I were a practicing physician in NY I would likely take “Trans Care” off my shingle for the foreseeable future. Maybe forever.

  18. God’s kingdom will eliminate this evil experimentation when it rules the earth. Daniel 2:19-44 gave us an accurate prophecy of the 4th major kingdom after Babylon(divided rule w/disunited population),which will then be destroyed & gk rules the earth, eliminating sickness & death.-Revelation 21:3-5!

    1. re: clarksbackup

      The Bible also says followers of Jesus are supposed “to turn the other cheek” – to NOT follow the Islamic tradition of revenge or a non-Christian “eye for an eye” justice system. A Christian nation would never have a “War Department” only a department for defense.

      The 3 different versions of the 10 Commandments opposes the death penalty and opposes adultery. Something many Republicans support.

      The Bible also says when marrying, the groom must provide livestock animals (chickens, goats, etc) to the family of the bride and that women must be submissive to their husbands. The Bible does allow men to multiple wives, but women don’t have those same rights.

      The Bible also says “masterbation” is a sin. Reminder to Mike Johnson’s “Porn Buddies” program, where he is supposed to call his son if he has such urges, similar to the AA program. Wonder if Republicans knew about this one?

      Trump supporting IVF (in vitro fertilization) would also be against the Bible since it’s similar to abortion. For every birth, several more embryos are destroyed. The extra IVF embryos are thrown in the trash dumpster, but could be used to save more lives through stem cell technology. Republicans are opposed to this life saving technology for these IVF embryos already headed to the landfill.

      What really matters is the First Amendment does not allow Congress to pass any laws establishing any religion – including your interpretation of Christianity. Not allowed in American governing.

      1. @AG John Mitchell served 19 months in prison:

        And just think, Kathleen Kane the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania convicted for perjury, obstruction of justice, and related charges for illegal activities WHILE she was attorney general, Her actions facilitated the overturn of the Commonwealth Supreme court to a sustained majority of “activist” woke justices and a nearly complete overturn of the appeals courts.

        She only served 9 months – basically a parking ticket.

        Of course General Mark Milley, 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 39th Chief of Staff of the Army advocated an autocratic tyranny coup when he suggested the elimination of the US Congress (House and Senate) to “Prevent a Reichstag Moment” in accusation of Jan 6 being an attempt to do so by an opponent – then negotiated with China to supplement that coup probably disclosing classified information about the US Military and Country – and received a “pardon” from Biden for doing so?

        Or maybe the US State department releasing $9BB in frozen assets to Iran through a Quatar bank which supported the distribution thereof to Hammas and Hezbollah in their upcoming genocide attempt on Oct 7.

        If you read the Biblical Old Testament books of Genesis, Joshua and Judges, you’d realize the taking of Caanan by genocide of the Amorites (Who may also have been the descendants of Abraham) may not be the best historical logical justification – and more likely, completely irrelevant.

      2. So murder cannot be a crime because it is forbidden by the Bible? Those statutes constitute a state-sponsored religion?

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