ASBURY PARK, NJ — Today, the Garden State Equality Action Fund is launching a new campaign called “Jersey for Trans Healthcare” to protect gender-affirming healthcare in New Jersey.
With a presidential administration determined to restrict access to trans healthcare and erase the factuality of gender diversity from medicine, it is critical the Garden State moves to codify protections for this medically necessary, lifesaving care.
While New Jersey has protections in place — such as Governor Phil Murphy’s executive order making the Garden State a safe haven for gender-affirming care — many are not codified into state law and could be overturned by the next governor or a single court decision.
However, the threats to this best-practice healthcare are not hypothetical. A January 28 executive order from President Trump directed federal agencies to illegally defund healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming medical treatments to anyone under 19. These illegal, unethical policies aren’t even in force yet, but they’ve already had a chilling effect on some of the largest healthcare systems around the country.
While there have been some early victories in the fight against these policies, the federal government’s attacks on gender-affirming care — and the very existence of transgender and gender diverse people — are still real and unrelenting.
“Jersey for Trans Healthcare” seeks to remedy this precarity by advocating for specific, intentional, and inclusive legislation that would enshrine into law New Jersey’s status as a gender-affirming care sanctuary state. The campaign is centered around the Reproductive Freedom and Health Equity Bill Package, introduced in the summer of 2024, which contains nine bills that would build on New Jersey’s existing healthcare protections.
Gender-affirming care is best-practice, medically necessary healthcare supported by all major medical associations. It improves mental health and quality of life, and is often lifesaving for those who can access it.
“Because of my untreated gender dysphoria, I felt depressed and devoid of a personality,” said Michelle, a trans woman from Monmouth County. “Gender-affirming care is medically necessary and must be covered by all health insurance providers so that transgender people like me can afford to receive the care that we need.”
“Gender-affirming healthcare allowed me to safely transition. I would not be here if it wasn’t for the availability of gender-affirming healthcare,” said Simone, a trans woman from Sussex County. “Now I live at peace with myself and have never been happier.”
“When we found out that Trump had issued the executive order banning gender-affirming care for people under 19, we were petrified,” said Kathleen of New Jersey, the mother of an 18-year-old trans man. “Lack of gender-affirming care — both medical and non-medical — would have been a death sentence for our child. His care matters. And he is the most amazing young man that anyone could have the privilege of knowing. He is the reason that we need to fight for transgender people.”
“Reproductive healthcare and gender-affirming care are two sides of the same coin,” said Lauren Albrecht (she/her), Garden State Equality Action Fund Director of Advocacy & Organizing. “Both forms of medically necessary, lifesaving care hinge on the fundamental human right to bodily autonomy. The Reproductive Freedom and Health Equity Bill Package is our way of codifying protections for trans healthcare for years to come while simultaneously strengthening our pre-existing protections for reproductive healthcare.”
The campaign is presented in coalition with Action Together New Jersey, Blue Wave New Jersey, Cherry Hill Women’s Center, HiTOPS, National Council of Jewish Women/Essex, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey, and Unitarian Universalist FaithAction NJ.
“We are grateful to our ‘Jersey for Trans Healthcare’ coalition partners and the legislators who have already supported protecting gender-affirming care, especially Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz leading the charge,” said Christian Fuscarino (he/him), Garden State Equality Action Fund Executive Director. “Their collaboration and commitment to resisting attacks against transgender and gender diverse people will prove vital to the success of this campaign.”