Larson Rebukes Trump-Backed Trans Health Care Ban, Vows to Continue Fight to Protect LGBTQ+ Youth

Washington, D.C. - Today, following the Trump Administration's latest proposal to bully hospitals out of providing care to transgender youth, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) voted against another Republican bill to ban trans youth from accessing essential medical care. Today’s vote follows last night’s passage of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s extreme bill to criminalize health care providers that serve transgender Americans under 18. 

“President Trump, Secretary Kennedy, and my Republican colleagues think they know better than parents and doctors when it comes to the health of our children,” said Larson. “Last night, they pushed through one of the most extreme bills we have ever voted on – a bill to jail doctors, parents, and nurses simply for ensuring their kids can get the care they need. Not even 24 hours after that shameful vote, they want to ban Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care and shut down hospitals that serve trans youth. I trust families to make their own health care decisions in consultation with their doctors and providers. Politicians have no business getting in the way of essential medical care. I stand with our Attorney General, William Tong, who has already been in court to block these discriminatory threats from ever becoming law. Whether it is access to abortion, contraception, or care for LGBTQ+ youth, I will never back down from the fight for health care freedom.” 

As a member of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Rep. Larson is an original cosponsor of the Equality Act, to extend civil rights protections under federal law to LGBTQ+ Americans. He also recently filed briefs at the Supreme Court in opposition to trans health care bans like the proposals House Republicans put forward this week, and in support of state bans on conversion therapy, including Connecticut’s strong antidiscrimination protections. 

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is co-leading a coalition suing the Trump administration to block those threats of criminal prosecution and federal actions, currently pending in court.