INTRO

International Nonbinary People's Day

As a genderqueer transmasculine person whose first trans coming out was realizing my gender is not binary, I stand with all nonbinary, genderqueer, two-spirit and gender diverse people on this day. May we have a day of solidarity, hope, and joy in the face of all we stand against.

It has been another troubling week in queer trans health and wellness news, but when things seem their hardest, I remember why we're here: because you keep showing up, because our communities keep fighting with us and for us, and because the work we're doing here, together, really matters. I see so many people on the local level fighting back. Keep it up!

NEWS

Another week of stark contrasts in LGBTQ+ rights, where local victories clash with federal pressure and bureaucratic warfare plays out in real time. Let’s start (and end) with some good news, because I know we all need it right now.

Courts and Councils Fight Back

Wisconsin's Supreme Court delivered a 4-3 win for LGBTQ+ youth, ruling that the state's conversion therapy ban can finally take effect after years of Republican legislative obstruction. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed three bills to shield residents from potential federal rollbacks—prohibiting healthcare discrimination, directing de-prioritization of anti-LGBTQ+ law enforcement, and reducing sex work penalties. Massachusetts is updating its shield laws to protect providers treating out-of-state patients, while Oak Park, Illinois is exploring sanctuary city protections for trans youth.

Federal Pressure Takes Its Toll

The Trump administration's threats are having immediate consequences. Children's Hospital Los Angeles—the country's largest public provider of gender-affirming care for minors—is closing its trans youth center July 22nd after 30 years, citing federal funding threats. This comes less than six months after assurances that the program wasn’t going anywhere.

Vanderbilt Medical Center has cut its LGBTQ+ program, while the DOJ is subpoenaing patient records from trans care providers. The FTC is laying groundwork to potentially ban gender-affirming care as "unfair or deceptive," seeking to charge providers with fraud, and the organization held a controversial workshop featuring anti-trans speakers promoting debunked theories.

State-Level Restrictions Multiply

Puerto Rico's legislature passed what could be the most restrictive trans youth care ban yet—prohibiting treatment for anyone under 21 and threatening parents and providers with fines and jail time. The bill awaits the governor's signature. Louisiana quietly stopped Medicaid reimbursement for gender-affirming prescriptions through bureaucratic rule changes, bypassing the legislative process entirely. And a Stateline analysis warns that the Supreme Court's Skrmetti ruling could affect access to many other medical treatments beyond gender-affirming care. The New England Journal of Medicine published an op-ed this week criticizing the “faulty logic” behind the Supreme Court decision.

Stateside

California is exploring expanded sanctuary protections for trans youth, while advocacy groups document social disparities facing LGBTQ+ people in New York. Kansas has new challenges to trans rights protections, and a Kentucky transgender woman is suing the Department of Corrections over threats to end her hormone treatment access while incarcerated.

International Developments

On a brighter note, India's first transgender healthcare clinic has reopened after facing closure as a result of the DOGE cuts to USAID funding, offering hope for improved access to affirming care in South Asia.

DIGEST

Last week at Well Beings News:

WHY UPGRADE

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