Nearly 80 Jewish organizations come together to support transgender youth
February 17, 2026
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Secretary, US
Department of Health and Human
Services 200 Independence Avenue
SW Washington, DC 20201
Dr. Mehmet Oz Administrator,
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services 200 Independence Avenue
SW Washington, DC 20201
Re: Comment on CMS-2451-P (RIN 0938-AV73) and CMS-3481-P (RIN 0938-AV87)
Dear Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz,
The Jewish Abortion Access Coalition (JAAC) and Thrive: The Jewish Coalition to Defend Trans and LGBQ+ Youth, on behalf of the 79 undersigned organizations, submit this comment in opposition to the proposed rules restricting access to gender-affirming care for transgender young people: CMS-2451-P (“Medicaid Program; Prohibition on Federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program Funding for Sex-Rejecting Procedures Furnished to Children”) and CMS-3481-P (“Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Hospital Condition of Participation: Prohibiting Sex-Rejecting Procedures for Children”).
Our coalitions — guided by Jewish texts, teachings, and values — support the full spectrum of reproductive health care and rights, including gender-affirming care. While the membership of our coalitions comprises a variety of Jewish denominations, we are united by consensus in the belief that transgender individuals, like all people, are created in the Divine image and possess inherent dignity and rights (B’tzelem Elohim, Genesis 1:27). Jewish theology explicitly maintains the diversity of gender expression; we support the full equality of transgender individuals and oppose restrictions on gender-affirming care.1 According to the World Health Organization, gender-affirming care includes “social, psychological, behavioral or medical (including hormonal treatment or surgery) interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity.”2
The proposed rules impede the fulfillment of our faith-informed commandments by stripping transgender individuals, their families, and their health care providers from receiving or delivering life-saving care. Robust scientific evidence demonstrates that gender-affirming care is
effective, safe, and age-appropriate, successfully decreasing depression, anxiety, and suicidality.3 Our Jewish faith commands us to uphold Pikuach Nefesh, the principle that saving a life overrides virtually every other religious obligation. As federal programs, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are all governed by constitutional protections for religious freedom.
Our community’s conviction in the importance of access to gender-affirming care goes beyond religious principles; we are aligned with every major American medical and mental health association in recognizing this care as life-saving, evidence-based, and medically necessary.4 The proposed rules seek to effectively criminalize the provision of this essential care. We are deeply concerned by the potential infringement on the expertise and ethical obligations of health care providers.
Federal health policy should be informed by rigorous evidence and the standards of care developed by clinicians and relevant professional associations, not by politicized, discriminatory bias against particular communities. The proposed rules endanger the health and well-being of young people, their families, and equitable access to care. They reflect a federal intrusion of privacy and autonomy over personal medical decision-making. Further, the proposed rules place health care providers in an untenable ethical bind, forcing them to choose between keeping their hospitals open and upholding the Hippocratic oath by delivering life-saving care.
Right now, our country is facing a true health care crisis as costs soar, coverage suffers, and inequities deepen.5 These proposed rules do not reflect good-faith efforts to strengthen our public health programs; rather, they seek to entrench prejudice and discrimination.
Guided by our Jewish values, we firmly oppose the implementation of CMS-2451-P and CMS-3481-P.
Sincerely,
National Organizations
National Council of Jewish Women
Keshet
Aleph: Alliance for Jewish Renewal
Avodah
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jews for a Secular Democracy
JQ International
Kirva
Moving Traditions
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies New Jewish Narrative
Rabbinical Assembly
Reconstructing Judaism
Society for Humanistic Judaism
The Shalom Center
Union for Reform Judaism
The Workers Circle
Women of Reform Judaism
State and Local Organizations
SOJOURN
Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation (MD)
Astoria Center of Israel (NY)
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action California (CA)
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Long Island (NY)
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Pittsburgh (PA)
Beth Chayim Chadashim (CA)
Beth Shir Shalom (CA)
Bnai Keshet Reconstructionist Synagogue (NJ)
Chicago Sinai Congregation (IL)
Congregation Bet Haverim (GA)
Congregation Beth El Binah (TX)
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (NY) Congregation Dor Hadash (CA)
Congregation Sha’ar Zahav (CA)
Congregation Shaarey Zedek (MI)
Congregation Shir Libeynu (TO)
Faith Commons (TX)
Fort Tryon Jewish Center (NY)
Havurah Shalom (OR)
Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (NY) Jewish Community Action (MN)
Jewish Family Services of Greensboro (NC)
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland (OR)
Judaism Your Way (CO)
Kehilla Community Synagogue (CA)
Kesher Pittsburgh (PA)
Makom Shelanu (TX)
Mishkan Torah Synagogue (MD)
National Council of Jewish Women Atlanta Section (GA)
National Council of Jewish Women Austin Section (TX)
National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County Section (NJ)
National Council of Jewish Women Chicago North Shore Section (IL)
National Council of Jewish Women Colorado Section (CO)
National Council of Jewish Women Florida
National Council of Jewish Women Greater Miami Section (FL)
National Council of Jewish Women Greater Long Beach Section (CA)
National Council of Jewish Women Greater Rochester Section (NY)
National Council of Jewish Maryland
National Council of Jewish Massachusetts
National Council of Jewish Women Michigan
National Council of Jewish Women Ohio
National Council of Jewish Women Peninsula Section (NY)
National Council of Jewish Women Pennsylvania
National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis Section (MO)
National Council of Jewish Women Texas
National Council of Jewish Women Utah Section (UT)
National Council of Jewish Women Virginia
Princeton University Center for Jewish Life LGBTQ*J (NJ)
The Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore (NY)
Taste of Olam Haba (AR)
Temple Beth-El, Ithaca (NY)
Temple Beth Zion (MA)
Temple B’nai Israel (MI)
Temple Emanuel (MA)
Temple Emeth (MA)
Temple Hesed (PA)
Temple Shalom (TX)
Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (AZ)
Or Hamidbar, Palm Springs (CA)
Endnotes
1. Rabbinic Members of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, “The Rights of Transgender and Non-Conforming Individuals,” Central Conference of American Rabbis, March 16, 2015,
https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-resolutions/rights-transgender-and-gender-non-conforming-indiv/.; The Rabbinical Assembly, “Resolution Affirming the Rights of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People,” 2016,
https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/story/resolution-affirming-rights-transgender-and-gender-non-conforming-people#:~:text=Th e%20Rabbinical%20Assembly%20has%20resolutions%20that%20affirm,equality%20of%20transgender%20people%20under% 20the%20law.; Julie Zauzmer, “The rabbis of Conservative Judaism pass a resolution supporting transgender rights,” The Washington Post, June 1, 2016,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/06/01/the-rabbis-of-conservative-judaism-pass-a-resolution-suppor ting-transgender-rights/.; Rabbi David Teutsch, “Understanding Transgender Issues in Jewish Ethics,” Reconstructing Judaism, April 18, 2016, https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/article/understanding-transgender-issues-jewish-ethics/.
2. World Health Organization, “Gender incongruence and transgender health in the ICD,”
https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/frequently-asked-questions/gender-incongruence-and-transgender-health-in-the-icd #:~:text=What%20is%20gender%2Daffirmative%20health,affirm%20an%20individual's%20gender%20identity.
3. Jack L. Turban et al., “Access to gender-affirming hormones during adolescence and mental health outcomes among transgender adults,” PLOS One, January 12, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261039.; Patrick Boyle, “What is gender-affirming care? Your questions answered,” AAMC News, April 12, 2022,
https://www.aamc.org/news/what-gender-affirming-care-your-questions-answered.
4. American Medical Association, “AMA to states: Stop interfering in health care of transgender children,” April 26, 2021, https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-states-stop-interfering-health-care-transgender-children.; American Nurses Association, “American Nurses Association Opposes Restrictions on Transgender Healthcare and Criminalizing Gender-Affirming Care,” Nursing World, October 26, 2022,
https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2022-news-releases/american-nurses-association-opposes-restrictions-on-trans gender-healthcare-and-criminalizing-gender-affirming-care/.; American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, “AACE Position Statement: Transgender and Gender Diverse Patients and the Endocrine Community,” March 7, 2022, https://pro.aace.com/recent-news-and-updates/aace-position-statement-transgender-and-gender-diverse-patients; American College Health Association, “Organizational Position Statement: Access to HEalth Care Services for Transgender Patients,” February 8, 2023, https://www.acha.org/resource/access-to-health-care-services-for-transgender-patients/.; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals,” March 2021, https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2021/03/health-care-for-transgender-and-gender-diver se-individuals.; American Psychological Association, “APA adopts groundbreaking policy supporting transgender, gender diverse,nonbinary individuals,” February 28, 2024,
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2024/02/policy-supporting-transgender-nonbinary.; Federation of Pediatric Organizations, “Statement in Support of Transgender Children and Youth, their Families, and Health Care Providers,” March 28, 2022, https://www.abp.org/sites/public/files/pdf/news-fopo-statement-transgender-care.pdf.; National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, “Position Statement: Healthcare for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals,” https://npwomenshealthcare.com/position-statement-healthcare-for-transgender-and-gender-diverse-individuals/.; National Association of Social Workers, “Gender-Affirming Care Saves Lives,” March 28, 2023,
https://www.socialworkers.org/News/News-Releases/ID/2642/Gender-Affirming-Health-Care-Saves-Lives#:~:text=WASHINGT ON%2C%20D.C.%20%E2%80%93%20The%20National%20Association,transgender%20and%20gender%20diverse%20(TGD; Alyson Sulaski Wyckoff, “AAP continues to support care of transgender youths as more states push restrictions,” American Academy of Pediatrics, January 6, 2022,
https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/19021/AAP-continues-to-support-care-of-transgender?autologincheck=redirected.
5. Grace Sparks et al., “Americans’ Challenges with Health Care Costs,” KFF, December 11, 2025, https://www.kff.org/health-costs/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/.; James K. Elsey, MD, FACS, “US HEalthcare System Is in Crisis,” American College of Surgeons, February 5, 2025,
https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/news-publications/news-and-articles/bulletin/2025/february-2025-volume-110-iss ue-2/us-healthcare-system-is-in-crisis/.
