Federal judge undercuts Trump’s executive order on ‘radical gender ideology’

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from forcing recipients of federal teen pregnancy prevention grants to follow new rules targeting ‘radical indoctrination’ and ‘gender ideology.’

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said President Donald Trump’s order was ‘motivated solely by political concerns, devoid of any considered process or analysis, and ignorant of the statutory emphasis on evidence-based programming.’

The ruling marked a victory for Planned Parenthood affiliates in California, Iowa and New York, who sued to try to block enforcement of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy change. The ruling will apply to all organizations that receive grants. 

HHS, which oversees the program, declined to comment on Tuesday’s ruling.

HHS had previously said in a policy document issued in July that the guidance for the program ‘ensures that taxpayer dollars no longer support content that undermines parental rights, promotes radical gender ideology, or exposes children to sexually explicit material under the banner of public health.’

Planned Parenthood affiliates argued the new directives conflicted with the program’s requirements and were so vague that it was unclear how to comply.

Howell agreed, writing in her ruling that the HHS policy provided ‘incomprehensibly vague’ requirements and ‘seemingly relied on irrelevant ideological factors, and did not justify its change in position.’

The changes to the pregnancy prevention program were part of a series of executive orders Trump signed on his first day back in the White House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.