This week, the Department of Health and Human Services published a false report claiming that respecting a trans person’s name and pronouns predicts support for political violence, branding “gender ideology” an “accelerant” for “left-wing authoritarianism.” Trump also told a South Carolina rally that hospitals are “doing reverse surgery” on trans patients at his order, a claim with no basis in fact. On the other hand, a federal appeals court refused to hand the DOJ sensitive medical records of trans youth treated in New York, and a judge tossed Colorado schools’ challenge to state trans-athlete protections for lack of standing.

Schools stayed a central battleground: the American Academy of Pediatrics told anti-trans activists to stop invoking its name to push genital exams in sports policy, even as a Washington voter guide cited the group over its objection in an entry on a proposed trans sports ban. Moms for Liberty is suing a New Jersey district to force the outing of trans students, and new reporting shows schools rarely acted on LGBTQ+ students’ reports of violent assault.

NHS Wales abruptly suspended all gender-affirming surgeries for adult patients of the Welsh Gender Service, with some told days or hours before scheduled procedures, pending an independent review prompted by a single anti-trans journalist’s blog. And Amnesty International UK reportedly used copyright law to scrub its own report naming anti-trans groups after JK Rowling threatened to sue. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Portugal’s parliament to withdraw three bills targeting gender identity.

Anti-LGBTQI+ disinformation is fuelling offline harm across Southern Africa, while Indonesia faces calls to reverse a defense policy branding “LGBTQ+ culture” a national threat. And finally, Human Rights Watch condemned Ecuador’s adoption law for discriminating against LGBT parents and trans children.

Health workers must be allies as anti-trans legislation spreads: Two NHS doctors lay out how the UK’s EHRC “biological sex” code widens health inequalities for everyone, and what clinicians can concretely do to push back through training, advocacy, and refusing to enforce discriminatory policies.

The Trans Guide to Saving Evidence of Online Harassment: A step-by-step guide to documenting threatening messages, preserving digital evidence, and reporting abusive accounts before you block them.

How readers beat back proposed estrogen restrictions: The Needle breaks down how a wave of public comment from its readers helped push back proposed limits on estrogen access, a reminder that showing up to comment periods moves outcomes.