Both The New York Times and The Washington Post uncorked their alarm on the front page on Friday when the Trump administration declared it would ban federal funding from any hospital that provides gender-denying care to minors.
The Post headline was “Trans care for minors targeted.” The Times headline was “U.S. to Halt Care for Trans Youth.” The surprise here was neither of these stories used the Orwellian term “gender-affirming care” in their left-tilting dispatches. “Gender transition care” or “gender-related care” were the replacements.
The Times story – penned by Azeen Ghorayshi, Amy Harmon, and Reed Abelson – was more panicked. “The administration’s action is not just a regulatory shift but the latest signal that the federal government does not recognize even the existence of people whose gender identity does not align with their sex at birth.”
The E-word erupts again later:
Thursday’s announcement follows the clear road map set out by Mr. Trump in executive orders issued in his first days in office that denied the very existence of transgender people. “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the president wrote.
That’s not denying the existence of people – it’s denying their delusions.
The Times quoted from three leftist groups – the ACLU, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Movement Advancement Project, without a label, but they squealed about an “ultraconservative Republican majority” in Congress willing to back Trump.
The Post story by Paige Winfield Cunningham did the same, citing the ACLU and the HRC without a label. They were simply "LGBTQ+ advocates." But she warned “Conservatives and some former transition care providers have charged that young people questioning their gender identity are being given sometimes-irreversible interventions too quickly.”
Using “care” as the antonym of “transition” draws quote marks: “Assistant Secretary for Health Brian Christine, who before his appointment called for transgender youth to undergo “corrective care” instead of transitioning…”
The Post online story used the phrase “transition care” 13 times, including twice in the headline block.
The Washington Times put this story on page A-6 on Friday under this headline: "HHS moves to cut funds to hospitals offering 'sex-rejecting' care to minors." HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used the term "sex-rejecting," which is much more accurate than "gender-affirming."
