Eugene, Oregon - A US district judge blocked an effort by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restrict gender-affirming care for minors.

District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai on Thursday ruled that President Donald Trump's administration overreached when it issued a declaration in December on the use of puberty blockers and gender-affirming surgeries.

The Health and Human Services document, touted by RFK Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Doctor Mehmet Oz, declared that "sex-rejecting procedures for children and adolescents are neither safe nor effective as a treatment modality for gender dysphoria."

As a result of this finding, the HHS said that such procedures "fail to meet professionally recognized standards of health care" and recommended psychotherapy as a solution to gender dysphoria.

RFK Jr. did not issue any specific directives in the declaration but claimed that he has the authority to "exclude individuals or entities" from federal healthcare funding if they fail to meet the HHS standards set out in the document.

Following a lengthy hearing on a case brought by 19 US states, Kasubhai said that RFK Jr. had overstepped his authority by issuing the declaration and blocked the HHS from restricting medical providers from providing gender-affirming care to minors.

"So much of the conversation around transgender health care has lost sight of the real people harmed by the federal government's attacks," wrote New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement responding to the ruling.

"Young people are losing access to life-saving treatment, families are being left in the dark, and medical providers are being threatened just for doing their jobs and following standards of care."