Nationwide Preliminary Injunction Issued on Executive Order Limiting Gender-Affirming Care

On March 4, 2025, a federal judge in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction¹ to an executive order restricting access to gender-affirming care for individuals under the age of nineteen (the Executive Order).²

In early February, several groups filed suit and sought an emergency motion for a Temporary Restraining Order on President Trump’s Executive Order in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. The Executive Order mandates limits on federal funding to hospitals and clinics providing all forms of gender affirming care, including the use of prescription puberty blockers and surgical procedures intended to align an individual’s physical appearance with an identity that differs from that individual’s sex assigned at birth.³

In a similar lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Washington, a Washington federal judge issued a preliminary injunction on the Executive Order in four states: Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, and Oregon.⁴ The Maryland District Court similarly issued a preliminary injunction. However, in contrast to the limited scope of the Washington injunction, the Maryland preliminary injunction applies nationwide.

While the Maryland District Court decides the merits of the case, the preliminary injunction prevents federal bodies from issuing regulations and guidance or otherwise implementing the mandates of the Executive Order in all states. In the meantime, Snell & Wilmer will continue to monitor developments in this case, including the issuance of any rules or guidance related to gender-affirming care.

Footnotes

1. Mem. Op., PFLAG, Inc. et al. v. Trump et al., Civ. No. 25-337-BAH (D. Md. Mar. 4, 2025).

2. Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, Exec. Order 14,187 (Jan. 28, 2025) (available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-children-from-chemical-and-surgical-mutilation/).

3. For more information about the Executive Order, please see Federal Judge Extends Block on Executive Order Limiting Gender-Affirming Care, SNELL & WILMER (Mar. 4, 2025).

4. Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Washington et al. v. Trump et al., No. 2:25 cv 244-LK (W.D. Wash.) (Feb. 28, 2025).