Federal Actions Roll Back Protections for Transgender Individuals

The Trump administration has rolled back several federal protections and services for transgender individuals, with executive orders dismissing the validity of gender identity, restricting care and shutting down supportive programs and initiatives.

President Trump’s order includes a series of measures, including one requiring the federal government to recognize only two sexes — male and female — eliminating references to gender identity in policy documents and requiring that government-issued documents and forms, like passports, reflect one’s sex assigned at birth.

The administration ordered agencies to shut down programs, grants and other initiatives promoting or reflecting gender identity, restricted gender-affirming treatments for minors under the age of 19 and blocked transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sports.

Megamo Nesbit with OUT Central Oregon, a nonprofit providing support for LGBTQ+ individuals, said finding community and connection is critical during these times.

“I think one of the things that scares me the most about what’s happening with these executive orders is a direct attack and erasure on the trans community. It has an immediate impact,” Nesbit told the Source Weekly.

Because these orders pose some of the most dangerous attacks that OCO has seen on the community in recent memory, Nesbit said, the organization is working to be part of the community more than ever.

Moving forward, OCO plans to connect with other organizations throughout the state, helping Central Oregonians stay connected, in the know and get the resources they need.

“I think it’s really important that folks definitely realize what is happening on the local level, and do voice concerns, and do stay active on what’s happening on the local level, so we aren’t just bowing down to executive orders that may very well be overturned in the courts,” Nesbit said.

Support for Students

In an effort to support students, Bend-La Pine Schools passed a resolution “affirming gender identity, expression and equity for transgender and gender-expansive students and staff” on Feb. 11.

“Bend-La Pine Schools is dedicated to building a school community where each and every individual is welcomed, appreciated, valued and empowered to thrive,” read a statement from the resolution.

Kina Chadwick, who uses they/them pronouns, is a member of the BLPS board. Chadwick saw the resolution as an important response to the federal government’s targeting of vulnerable people but ultimately feels like a resolution is not enough.

“That resolution needs to be backed by actions,” Chadwick told the Source Weekly. “For me personally, I kind of stick out in Bend as a nonbinary, brown person. It’s one thing to be an adult and to be nonbinary; it’s another thing to have children who are trans or gender expansive. I can’t imagine what that would be like if my kids were going through this right now.”

Last week, Chadwick visited Caldera High School to talk to students in the school’s Gender Sexuality Alliance club. Chadwick’s approach is to get out in the community and talk to youth to find out what they need.

Chadwick let the students know they aren’t alone, and asked what would make their lives better in school and what would give them a better experience. They hope students can be able to just exist and learn, without worry.

“People can’t operate in fight or flight mode…. There are a lot of folks in our community right now, especially trans and gender-diverse folks, who don’t really know, no one knows, what’s going to go on,” Chadwick said. “If folks cannot get the hormones that they need, that they’ve been prescribed, it’s a big concern for me in terms of harm being done to people.”

Trump’s executive order on gender-affirming care halts federal funding for institutions that provide that care. Challenges to the actions, such as lawsuits and temporary restraining orders as recent as Feb. 14, put the executive order on hold while the case proceeds. Despite continued legal proceedings, some hospitals across the U.S. have already stopped such treatments preemptively, according to The Guardian.

Due to fears and uncertainty around health care actions, Nesbit with OCO said members of the community are reaching out and requesting guidance. OCO has been connecting people to local health resources, including Gender Hive, a local nonprofit that works to “improve access to trans-inclusive and gender-affirming care in Central Oregon,” and Bend’s Planned Parenthood health center.

In response to the potential restrictions to gender-affirming care in the future, OSU-Cascades, which currently offers its students gender-affirming health services including hormonal therapy, claims it filed a declaration in the lawsuit challenging the executive order to support students who are pursuing their education while undergoing treatment.

At the state level, Gov. Tina Kotek plans to support the LGBTQ+ community and keep Oregon a safe place for everyone.

“To the LGBTQ+ community, I will fight to make sure that Oregon remains a place where you are free to be yourselves, and a state that respects and provides access to gender-affirming care no matter what’s happening in Washington, D.C.,” Kotek said in a statement. “To our trans Oregonians, the federal government can’t erase who you are or deny that you exist.”

This article appears in The Source Weekly February 20, 2025.