The indictment, unsealed Monday in U.S, District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, arose from an inquiry into whether lawyers were "judge-shopping" - looking for sympathetic judges - in a case challenging Alabama's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. On May 20, 2022, three federal judges in Alabama questioned Charles, asking if he had called any judge's chambers about the assignment of the case, according to the indictment. Charles said he had not. But he "later amended his answers to state he actually called a judge's clerk," Reuters reports. "He apologized for his earlier response."
In recent months, a growing number of hospitals in blue states have shuttered their gender-affirming care programs for transgender youth and young adults up to 19 - not because of flaws in the care itself, which they have provided to thousands of patients without issue, but because of threats from the Trump administration. Rather than stand up to those threats and risk losing federal funding, these hospitals have chosen to abandon their transgender patients - an act many parents describe as outright capitulation, and one that likely violates state nondiscrimination laws.
NHS England has proposed a cautious and holistic approach to diagnosing gender dysphoria in services for transgender youngsters, following the recommendations of the Cass Report.
The belief that all children deserve the opportunity to live, grow and thrive with love and support is foundational to who we are and what we do.