Dozens Arrested Protesting HHS Over Proposed Gender-Affirming Care Rules

February 20, 2026 Dan Tracer

24 activists were arrested after blockading HHS headquarters over rules that could severely restrict gender-affirming care for trans youth nationwide.

Featured image by Heather Diehl/Getty Images

On the final day of public comment for two sweeping federal proposals targeting gender-affirming care, more than 50 parents, transgender advocates, and allies gathered outside the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C. By the end of the afternoon, 24 people had been arrested after blockading the entrance to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The protest, organized by the Gender Liberation Movement with participation from ACT UP NY and ACT UP Pittsburgh, was timed to send a clear message as the comment window closed. Demonstrators linked arms at the building’s entrance, holding a sign that read “HANDS OFF OUR ’MONES” and chanting, “HHS—RFK—TRANS YOUTH ARE NO DEBATE” and “NO HATE—NO FEAR—TRANS YOUTH ARE WELCOME HERE.” As police moved in, protesters shouted, “This is our public comment!”

The proposed rules, announced in December by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would bar hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors from participating in Medicare and Medicaid. They would also prohibit federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funds from covering such care and remove gender dysphoria from protections under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Additionally, advocates warn that the rules would make providing puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery to transgender youth grounds for losing all federal health care funding. There are no exceptions for patients already receiving care, raising the possibility that young people currently in treatment could be forced to stop.

Even before the rules take effect, hospitals across the country have begun to respond to the threat. More than 40 have paused or ceased providing gender-affirming care to minors in recent weeks. Children’s Hospital Colorado halted care for hundreds of patients. Rady Children’s Health in California discontinued care for nearly 1,500. Lurie Children’s in Chicago stopped initiating new patients. None of these hospitals have been ordered by a court to shut down services.

In a press release, GLM cofounder Raquel Willis pointed to the implications of the administration’s approach. “We want trans youth and their loving families to know that we see them, we cherish them, and we won’t let these attacks go on without a fight,” she said. “We also want all Americans to understand that Trump, RFK, and their HHS won’t stop at trying to block care for trans youth — they’re coming for trans adults, for those who need treatment from insulin to SSRIs, and all those already failed by a broken health insurance system.”

GLM cofounder Eliel Cruz called the strategy political. “It is shameful and intentional that this administration is pitting communities against one another by weaponizing Medicaid funding to strip care from trans youth. This has nothing to do with protecting health and everything to do with political distraction,” he said. “They are targeting young people to deflect from their failure to deliver for working families across the country. Instead of restricting care, we should be expanding it. Healthcare is a human right, and it must be accessible to every person — without cost or exception.”

The protest unfolded as 106 members of Congress sent a letter opposing the rules, arguing they would interfere with parents’ ability to secure medically necessary care for their children and exceed federal authority.

With hospitals already scaling back services and uncertainty mounting, protesters made clear they do not plan to comply quietly.