DOJ fires warning shot at Letitia James over transgender treatments for minors
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice is warning New York Attorney General Letitia James to back away from her fight with NYU Langone Health over its decision to stop...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice is warning New York Attorney General Letitia James to back away from her fight with NYU Langone Health over its decision to stop providing certain transgender treatments to minors, arguing federal law does not require the hospital to offer the treatments. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a letter Wednesday obtained by Fox News Digital that the DOJ disagreed with James' determination that the hospital’s policy was discriminatory. Blanche warned the department would defend the hospital in litigation if James moved forward with suing, threatening a legal fight over the state's authority over the hospital and medical discretion when it comes to gender-related treatments. The letter comes after James recently said she would take "further action" against the Manhattan hospital, alleging it was violating a state anti-discrimination law. That law, Blanche said, "prohibits discrimination based on, among other things, sex, gender identity, and disability" and was not applicable to the hospital's transgender treatment program. "NYU Langone's exercise of its sound discretion to not provide such services and procedures does not constitute discrimination on any of these grounds," the deputy attorney general said. NYU Langone had made the decision last month to stop its Transgender Youth Health Program in the face of threats from the federal government that the hospital would lose funding. "Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program," spokesman Steve Ritea had said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. "We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change. This does not impact our pediatric mental health care programs, which will continue." James had responded to NYU Langone's move with a legal threat and gave the hospital 10 days to reinstate its program. "NYU Langone…