HHS Wants You to Snitch About Gender-Affirming Care

The latest development in the Trump administration's ongoing push to eradicate gender-affirming care: a portal where the public can submit tips regarding providers offering such care. The form, which can be found on the Department of Health and Human Services website, is called "Whistleblower Tips and Complaints Regarding the Chemical and Surgical Mutilation of Children," and the department has also offered an extensive outline of why the so-called whistleblowers shouldn't worry about disclosing protected health information, or being retaliated against for making a report.

As Erin in the Morning reports, people are encouraged to submit a report of any care that might be in opposition to President Trump's anti-transgender executive order, which aims to cut federal funding for gender-affirming care for anyone under age 19, or research into the topic—whether or not that care allegedly violates state or federal law. The executive order has been blocked by multiple judges, but federal agencies are still working to enforce it.

As for the promised protections for "whistleblowers" in this case, Erin in the Morning notes that it appears to be an exception for this administration: "Trump has waged war on whistleblowers in almost every other circumstance—including by firing the head of the government watchdog agency established to protect them." (More gender-affirming care stories.)