1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose the Department of Health and Human Services' proposed rules that would eliminate protections for transgender youth with gender dysphoria under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These proposed regulations, issued in December by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., represent a dangerous reversal of disability rights protections that have stood for over fifty years. Section 504 prohibits discrimination based on disability in federally-funded programs. The Biden Administration recognized gender dysphoria as a disability covered under this law, ensuring that transgender youth could not be denied essential healthcare in programs receiving federal funding. The new proposed rules would allow HHS funding recipients to discriminate against people with gender dysphoria, prevent federal funds from paying for essential healthcare for trans youth, and bar trans youth from receiving care at hospitals receiving Medicaid or Medicare dollars. This effectively means nearly every hospital in the United States could deny care to these young people. Nine states, led by Texas in the lawsuit Texas v. Kennedy, are arguing they should be free to decide how to care for disabled citizens while still receiving federal funding like Medicaid, without federal oversight on how those funds are spent. This argument fundamentally undermines the purpose of civil rights laws. If states can accept federal money while discriminating against certain disabled people, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act become meaningless. The freedom of expression, the pursuit of happiness, and the ability to live fully are foundational American values. Policies that allow discrimination against transgender youth with a recognized medical condition contradict these principles. These young people deserve the same protections under disability rights laws as every other American with a disability. I urge you to publicly oppose these proposed HHS rules and support maintaining Section 504 protections for all disabled people, including transgender youth with gender dysphoria.