ACLU Statement on Trump Banning Transgender Military Service Members

Three transgender people currently incarcerated in federal custody have filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump Administration and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) challenging an Executive Order and new BOP policies prohibiting their access to gender-affirming care. The class action lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of approximately 2,000 transgender people incarcerated in federal prisons across the United States.

RICHMOND, Va. -- On Friday, February 28th, the ACLU of North Carolina joined the ACLU Disability Rights Program, Rights Behind Bars, Tycko & Zavareei LLP, and Kaplan & Grady LLC, in filing an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on behalf of Tracey Edwards. While she was incarcerated in the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women (NCCIW), prison officials abruptly cut off Ms. Edwards' medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) after she gave birth, causing an extremely painful, dangerous, and unnecessary withdrawal. Prison officials also kept Ms. Edwards shackled during and after giving birth – in direct violation of the prison system’s own policy – causing severe pain and interfering with Ms. Edwards’ ability to bond with her newborn child. “People who are incarcerated deserve respect and dignity, as well as safe and responsive medical care,” said D Dangaran, Director of Gender Justice Rights Behind Bars. “By shackling Ms. Edwards during childbirth, keeping her shackled after she gave birth, and cutting off her medication, prison officials needlessly escalated the physical, mental, and emotional harm to Ms. Edwards during a time when she was already vulnerable.” “The use of shackles on Ms. Edwards and the denial of MOUD caused her pain and suffering, and greatly increased the risk of relapse, overdose, and death,” said Shana Khader, partner at Tycko and Zavareei LLP. “Defendants in this case violated medical standards of care as well as Ms. Edwards’ civil rights.” Ms. Edwards brought claims for damages under the Eighth Amendment and federal disability rights laws. The district court ruled against Ms. Edwards. In this appeal, Ms. Edwards seeks to have the district court’s decision reversed so a jury can decide her claims. “The treatment that Ms. Edwards experienced is both inhumane and unconstitutional,” said Joseph Longley, ACLU Disability Rights Program Staff Attorney. “This appeal is about accountability. No one, especially a new mother, should endure such cruel and degrading conditions. And no one should be denied access to their lifesaving medications for opioid use disorder, especially when tens of thousands of Americans are dying of an overdose every year. We are working to ensure Ms. Edwards gets her day in court and that this kind of mistreatment is never repeated.” The brief can be found here: https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2025.02.28_appellants_opening_brief_4th_cir._dkt._23-1.pdf

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The National Endowment for the Arts today agreed to remove a certification requirement that forced artists to attest that they will not “promote gender ideology” in order to apply for funding while the outcome of the case from the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Rhode Island is pending. Artists can now apply for funding without attesting to the new “gender ideology” requirement, but the NEA has not agreed to remove its new eligibility criteria, under which any projects that appear to “promote gender ideology” will not receive an award. Applicants who choose to submit Part 1 of the grant application before the NEA changes its Assurance of Compliance or before March 11, whichever is sooner, may still want to make clear that they object to the certification when submitting that piece of their application. “Artists and arts organizations should feel free to submit Part 1 of the NEA application on March 11 without having to agree to a certification that could have compromised their values or their vision,” said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney at the ACLU. “We will continue to seek urgent relief against the NEA’s unconstitutional bar on projects that express messages the government doesn’t like, but this is a huge step towards initial relief. We won’t stop fighting until these new requirements are struck down for good.” The ACLU is asking for a preliminary injunction on the funding prohibition ahead of the final grant application deadline on March 24. The ACLU, the ACLU of Rhode Island, David Cole, and Lynette Labinger, cooperating counsel for the ACLU-RI, filed suit Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island on behalf of Rhode Island Latino Arts; National Queer Theater; The Theater Offensive; and the Theater Communications Group. The suit argues that the new certification requirement and funding prohibition violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the First Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment. A hearing date is scheduled for March 18. More information about the case can be found here: https://www.aclu.org/cases/rhode-island-latino-arts-v-national-endowment-for-the-arts

BALTIMORE – Attorneys representing families and doctors from across the country filed a motion in federal court today asking the court to enforce its nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from taking steps to restrict funding for providers of gender-affirming medical care to people under 19. A week after returning to office, President Trump issued an executive order threatening to withhold all federal funding from any medical provider who offers gender-affirming medical care to transgender people under 19. The order was soon after challenged by families, medical providers, and organizations that serve them in PFLAG v. Trump, a case filed on their behalf by the ACLU, the ACLU of Maryland, and Lambda Legal. On Tuesday March 4, a federal district court in Baltimore granted a nationwide preliminary injunction in PFLAG v. Trump preventing the Trump administration from conditioning, withholding, or terminating federal funding based on the fact that a healthcare entity or health professional provides gender-affirming medical care to a patient under 19 under the executive orders or from “tak[ing] any steps to implement, give effect to, or reinstate [the EOs] under a different name.” On March 5, the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) issued a notice to providers stating that it “may begin taking steps to align its policies and regulations” with the Trump administration’s order. On March 6, the federal Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued similar notices to grantees which specifically stated those steps could include terminating or “rescoping” grants. Today’s motion asks the court to order the agencies to rescind the notices, provide the recipients of the notices with copies of the court order, and submit to the court signed acknowledgments by the agency heads that they have personally received a copy of the order. The following is a joint statement from the ACLU and Lambda Legal: “These notices are a transparent attempt to coerce medical providers to ignore their best medical judgment and instead follow politically-charged edicts from the President, injecting his ideology into the medical lives of thousands of transgender people and their families. The Trump administration is not above the law. Like anyone else, it must abide by and respect federal court orders. We are asking the court to enforce the preliminary injunction and make clear that the Trump Administration cannot threaten medical providers or hospitals’ federal funding for providing necessary gender-affirming medical care while the injunction is in place.” Click here for the emergency motion filed today and here for the memorandum in support of the motion.