US Federal Agency activity on LGBTI Health and Welfare 2009 through 2016 with 2020 update

Codifying Gender Non-Conformity (GNC) among Children and Adolescents: Law & Policy Milestones

The current legal and medical status of gender non-conforming youth in the US has been precipitated by coordinated Federal agency initiatives¹ that began in 2009 as part of a broader program within the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) to remedy significant gaps in medical research and healthcare addressing the needs of LGBTI citizens. 

These goals have been pursued in cooperation with a domestic network of non-governmental organizations² to establish the following elements of law, policy, practice and treatment addressing both GNC adults and minors.

• The definition and recognition of Gender Identity as legally equivalent to biological sex in civil rights and disability law
• Recognizing Gender Non-Conformity as a predicate of Gender Dysphoria eligible for medical coverage
• Medicalization of Gender Non-Conformity with standard guidance endorsing Affirmation Treatment protocols
• The recognition of guidelines other than Affirmation as characteristic of Conversion Therapies

The following is an annotated timeline of those efforts, highlighting key actions and points of evolution.