NYC Moves To Protect Gender-Affirming Care As States Restrict Access

NEW YORK CITY — Transgender and nonbinary people will have a safe harbor in New York City from discriminatory laws that restrict their access to necessary health care, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.

Adams signed an executive order stating the city won't cooperate with prosecutions or investigations from other states into people who provide or receive gender-affirming care.

"This executive order reaffirms the fact that hate has no place in our city and that all people deserve the right to gender-affirming care and protection against prosecution for being who they are," Adams said in a statement.

"To LGBTQ+ people across the nation feeling hurt, isolated, or threatened, we have a clear message for you: New York City has and will always be a welcoming home for you."

The order is a response to law passed in dozens of states that restrict access to gender-affirming health care. At least 20 of those states' laws are directly targeted at minors, city officials said.

Gender-affirming care refers to a whole spectrum of health care services — from mental health to medical to social services — for transgender and nonbinary people. Experts consider it medically necessary, and it has the support of every major medical association, which represents more than 1.3 million U.S. doctors, according to the Human Rights Campaign.