24 Parents And Activists Blockade HHS Headquarters In Protest Against New Trans Youth Care Ban, Arrested

The protestors blocked entrance to the Department of Health and Human Services headquarters to protest a rule that could eliminate trans youth care nationwide.

Photo credit Alexa B Wilkinson

On Tuesday, twenty-four people were arrested after parents of transgender youth and activists blockaded the Hubert H. Humphrey building, headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services, in protest of two proposed rules that could eliminate most transgender youth care nationwide. The rules, which entered their last day of public comment today, would make it virtually impossible for any doctor who works for a hospital system that accepts Medicaid or Medicare to provide transgender youth care. They are supplemented by an edict from HHS Secretary Kennedy himself which threaten enforcement of what essentially amounts to an administrative death penalty for hospitals that provide such care. Protesters and parents, though, were having none of it, shouting "This is our public comment!" while blockading the HHS entryway.

The action, organized by the Gender Liberation Movement with participation from members of ACT UP, saw over fifty parents and protesters descend on HHS headquarters, blockading the main entrance while chanting "HHS—RFK—TRANS YOUTH ARE NO DEBATE" and holding a sign that read "HANDS OFF OUR 'MONES." The twenty-four arrested are currently in the custody of the Metropolitan Police Department, according to a press release by the Gender Liberation Movement.

The protest targeted two proposed rules released on December 18, 2025, which together represent the single most aggressive attack on transgender healthcare in U.S. history. Rather than simply cutting Medicaid reimbursement for gender-affirming care, the rules take a far more sweeping approach: they would make not providing such care a condition of participation in Medicare and Medicaid entirely. Any hospital that continues to offer puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery to transgender youth—regardless of how the care is paid for—would risk losing all federal healthcare funding. The rules contain no exceptions for patients already receiving care, meaning transgender youth currently in treatment would face forced medical detransition.

“Dozens of hospitals nationwide have preemptively halted youth programs due to threats to federal funding. HHS has also signaled enforcement against LGBTQ-focused providers like Callen-Lorde and the LA LGBT Center, even in states without outright bans,” said a press release from GLM about the restrictions, “Despite HHS’s refusal to recognize gender-affirming care for trans youth, major medical associations—including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Endocrine Society—has regarded this care (which includes psychotherapy, social support, and—when clinically appropriate—puberty blockers and hormones) as evidence-based treatment for adolescents.”

Credit Cole Witter

The damage has indeed been swift: alongside the proposed rules, Kennedy signed a declaration that gender-affirming care for youth does not meet "professionally recognized standards of health care," giving HHS the power to begin threatening hospitals with exclusion from federal programs immediately. HHS General Counsel Mike Stuart has since referred multiple children's hospitals to the agency's inspector general for investigation, including Seattle Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital Colorado, and Children's Minnesota—all located in states where the care is legal. In the weeks that followed, more than 40 hospitals nationwide have paused or ceased providing gender-affirming care to minors. Children's Hospital Colorado halted care for hundreds of patients. Rady Children's Health, California's largest children's hospital system, discontinued care for nearly 1,500. Lurie Children's in Chicago stopped initiating new patients. None of these hospitals were required to stop—the rules have not taken effect, and no court has ordered them to do so. As the Transgender Law Center put it: "Right now, there is no ban." The hospitals are complying with a threat.

GLM says its protest of the ban attempt is in line with historical activism in favor of minority access to care. “GLM believes in the power of direct action to amplify the demands of marginalized communities and to put fascistic leaders on notice. Drawing on a long history of actions at HHS, including those led by disabled communities, GLM follows the lineage of advocates demanding access to healthcare. Since the start of this latest Trump era, GLM has led actions like a bathroom sit-in at the U.S. Capitol, a public administration of hormone replacement therapy outside of the Supreme Court, and more. This blockade coincides with the end of the public comment period, with a goal to encourage trans communities and those who love and support them to flood the system with comments,” says the organization’s press release.

While many hospitals and schools have complied in advance, transgender activists and parents have put their foot down, stepping out to protest every step of the way. As political avenues to challenge anti-transgender legislation close, this kind of on-the-ground activism may be what is required to take a stand in favor of transgender youth nationwide. This appears to be the north star of the GLM protest, whose press release closes with, "As we work with our communities to make it through another violent Trump administration, we will not and cannot preemptively comply when our community's most vulnerable are under attack. We must defy hatred, powerfully organize, and build a society with gender liberation for every/body."