President Trump took on transgender activism early in his second term, including through Executive Order 14187, which prohibits sex-change surgeries for anyone under the age of 19. (Getty Images/AP)
While a nationwide preliminary injunction was issued just a few months after the issuance of Trump's executive order prohibiting physicians from performing sex change surgeries on individuals under the age of 19, according to Epstein, the plaintiffs must still must show "standing" in order for a court to provide a remedy and just because the plaintiffs filed their suit early does not mean this responsibility disappears.
"Because standing is necessary for any federal court to provide a remedy, plaintiffs must plead concrete evidence of harm in their complaint," Epstein asserted. "Here, plaintiffs' complaint failed to show an actual, traceable loss tied to the federal action, beyond merely speculative claims of harm or generalized concerns. Filing suit early does not eliminate this requirement to establish standing."
Fox News Digital reached out to the health departments and Attorneys General offices in Massachusetts, Illinois and Nevada, to request information about the documents being relied on by plaintiffs in their suit against Trump's executive order. In particular, Fox News Digital also asked if the state health departments had no responsive records, or whether there might be anywhere else that they could be kept, but again did not receive a response.
In the lawsuit challenging Trump's Executive Order 14187, which bans federal taxpayer dollars from being used to "fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another," the blue state plaintiffs allege the executive order was fostering "an atmosphere of fear and intimidation experienced by transgender individuals, their families and caregivers, and the medical professionals who seek only to provide necessary, lawful care to their patients."
Fifteen states, D.C. and Gov. Josh Shapiro have sued the Trump admin over the president's executive order prohibiting transgender surgeries for those under the age of 19. (Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out repeatedly to the public health departments and Attorneys General offices for comment on AFL's accusations that their lawsuit is without evidence, but only received a response from Massachusetts' Department of Public health, which referred Fox News Digital to the state's Attorney General office.
"AFL has previously exposed other states’ lack of standing in their own respective cases against the Trump Administration. Specifically, AFL uncovered Colorado, Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Arizona’s lack of evidence supporting their claims of injury in an attempt to block the Trump Administration’s sharing of Medicaid beneficiary data with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security," a press release from the lawfare group said. "These states’ responses to AFL’s records requests repeatedly reveal a lack of standing. AFL will continue to expose baseless litigation efforts aimed at undermining the America First agenda."
Trump's Executive Order 14187 is also being challenged for alleged discrimination in a lawsuit against the Health and Human Services Department led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watchdog-claims-proof-harm-nonexistent-suit-against-trumps-ban-trans-surgeries-minors