On October 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent letters to several national medical organizations asking them to state whether they continue to support sex-rejecting procedures for minors, and to account for the evidence base and HHS reports on these interventions in their guidance and position statements, according to the HHS announcement.
Who received the letters
HHS named the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the Endocrine Society and others. Bloomberg Law reports that six organizations received letters, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.
What HHS requested
HHS said it had previously asked these organizations for a substantive response on their positions and any planned updates. The new letters, which HHS describes as a final request, ask each organization for:
- a clear statement of its current position on sex-rejecting procedures for minors,
- identification of any planned revisions to its guidance, and
- a timeline for those changes.
HHS said it expects a written response within 10 business days. According to Bloomberg Law, the letters do not specify consequences for organizations that do not respond. In its announcement, HHS said organizations that set standards of care for children "have a responsibility to answer for the consequences of their guidance," adding: "The Trump Administration will make sure they do."
"When medical organizations set standards that shape the care of children, they have a responsibility to explain the evidence behind those standards," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "HHS has asked these organizations for clear answers about their current positions, the evidence supporting their guidance, and whether they intend to change it. Parents and clinicians deserve transparency, and we expect these organizations to provide it."
Background
HHS described the letters as part of a series of federal actions on pediatric sex-rejecting procedures. These include proposals to bar hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid from performing these procedures on minors and to prohibit federal Medicaid and CHIP funding for them, a report on potentially fraudulent insurance coding associated with these procedures, and research examining ideological influences on support for these clinical practices. The Washington Examiner reported that the letters were sent on the afternoon of October 14.