Trump cuts sex-change funding for minors

The US president says taxpayers should not pay for surgeries and hormone treatments for children US President Donald Trump has ordered an end to federal funding for so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors through two major government healthcare programs.The move comes amid a broader rollback of transgender-related policies introduced under previous administrations.The new restrictions will apply to Medicaid, a joint federal-state health insurance program primarily serving low-income Americans, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers children whose families do not qualify for Medicaid but may struggle to afford private insurance.“We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. The restrictions are due to take effect on October 13 and will cover puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures. Children already receiving hormone therapy will be allowed a tapering-off period of up to six months, while federal coverage for mental-health services will remain in place.Individual st...