The Propoganda War: NPR And Trans Medical Care

 NPR's latest sob story is "Trump's ban on gender-affirming care for young people puts hospitals in a bind." The story begins by relating how a woman had moved her family from Tennessee to Virginia "to try to find a state that would be more welcoming to her transgender daughter, Willow." But "[a]fter months waiting for an appointment at the gender-affirming care clinic at VCU Health in Richmond, Willow had one on the calendar on Jan. 29," which was abruptly cancelled after Trump issued an executive order concerning the mutilation of young children. 

    The article doesn't explain why Virginia Commonwealth University Health cancelled the appointment, but the article goes on to discuss potential funding issues with Medicaid and Medicare, giving the impression that "Willow" would not get his "care" because his parent(s) could not pay for it. 

    But Trump's executive order did not immediately impact Medicaid or Medicare payments. Nor did it generally prohibit such treatments. Rather, all it did was require that "institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children." That is, if the institution wants to continue receiving research and education grants, it must stop the mutilation of children; but it could forego the grants and continue with what it is doing to children. VCU obviously decided to continue receiving the federal grants.

    This is how the government has worked for decades in enforcing regulations. The federal government cannot, in most instances, directly require private or state entities to follow its many regulations, so it makes receipt of federal money contingent on implementing and following federal regulations. This is how much of federal laws and rules on medical care, education, and highways are enforced. 

    So "Willow" can still get treatment. She is just going to have to receive it from a hospital not accepting federal research grants.