Lambda Legal filed briefs in two critical cases last week, defending hard-won protections for people living with HIV and transgender adults. Attorneys urged the Fourth Circuit to uphold an August 2024 district court ruling that struck down the military's ban on enlisting people with HIV—the final barrier to service for people living with HIV after years of advocacy. In a separate case, Anderson v. Crouch, attorneys argued that the Supreme Court's Skrmetti decision about minors shouldn't affect protections for transgender adults seeking medically necessary care.

The Advocate reports that RFK Jr.'s health department launched a civil rights investigation leveraging federal "conscience rights" to determine who can receive transgender healthcare—using the Office for Civil Rights as a political weapon rather than patient protection.

Marjorie Taylor Greene secured a commitment for a December 17 vote on her bill to criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender youth, making it a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The same day, the House will vote on Dan Crenshaw's bill to ban Medicaid coverage for transgender youth healthcare.

In addition, the Senate Republican’s proposed a healthcare bill that would permanently ban gender-affirming care from being classified as an essential health benefit under the ACA, eliminate Medicaid and CHIP coverage for transgender healthcare, and prohibit HSAs from covering transition-related care.

Sutter Health became the latest major healthcare system to preemptively end gender-affirming care. The NorCal system announced it will stop treating trans youth, leaving Bay Area families in medical limbo despite no federal policy change yet—demonstrating how political pressure achieves policy goals without legislation.

L.A. County is stepping up where the federal government abandoned LGBTQ+ youth. The county wants to launch its own crisis hotline after the Trump administration ended the federal crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth—local governments filling gaps created by federal abandonment. In other public health news, mpox cases are subsiding in New York City after a months-long uptick following effective vaccination campaigns and community education efforts.

North of the border, Alberta lawmakers passed legislation restricting trans youths' rights using emergency powers. The legislature used an emergency measure that won't expire until 2030 to gut legal opposition avenues to its anti-trans laws—a concerning use of authoritarian tactics to bypass democratic processes.

Access to medically necessary health care is currently under attack in Congress! Tell your representatives to vote no on the health care “compromise” aimed at destroying trans healthcare, and the MTG bills that would jail doctors and parents.

Find Your Representative here and get on the phone.

The anti-trans movement is sadly going to outlive Trump’s presidency - LGBTQ Nation Here's what we'll need to do to actively stop the international network profiting from anti-trans hate.

How LGBTQ+ rights funding collapsed in 2025 | Context by TRFThe U.S. and other countries cut funding for LGBTQ+ rights as a global backlash spreads, but activists vow to keep up their work.

Nationwide Crack Down on Homelessness Leaves Trans People Vulnerable In this episode of the TransLash podcast, Imara speaks with Dr. Dilara Yarbrough, an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Studies at San Francisco State University, who helps unpack Trump’s recent crackdown on homeless encampments in D.C. and the larger systems at play. Then, Atlanta organizer Jamie Roberts shares how her group works to address the needs of trans people in the South and what has to happen to end homelessness overall.

Criminalizing Youth Care and the Fallout for Trans Adults Laws that criminalize gender-affirming care for minors do not stop at childhood. They reshape the entire healthcare system for transgender people. Hospitals close programs, doctors leave the field, insurers tighten coverage, and families lose trust in medical settings. This article explains how youth bans become nationwide threats to transgender adult healthcare.

Trans migrants are adrift in Trump’s America | EL PAÍS English: The president’s tax law, which was passed over the summer, cut funding for hormone treatments. This has led to medication shortages and long waits at clinics, causing uncertainty within the trans community.