Delaware Shields Trans Health Care From Out-of-State Bans
Gov. Matt Meyer’s executive order bars state agencies from aiding other states’ efforts to investigate or punish gender-affirming care.
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer has signed an executive order protecting transgender individuals from having their medical or personal information shared with out-of-state authorities seeking to prosecute them for obtaining gender-affirming care.
Meyer signed the order last Friday at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, surrounded by LGBTQ advocates and activists.
The order prohibits Delaware state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state investigations targeting anyone who provides, receives, or assists others in obtaining legal gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapy or puberty blockers. It also bars agencies from sharing medical records, billing data, or personal information about anyone involved in such care.
Delaware agencies are also barred from using state resources to aid criminal or civil investigations targeting those who obtain or assist others in obtaining gender-affirming care. The order likewise prohibits compliance with out-of-state subpoenas seeking information about such treatments, unless the individual receiving care provides written consent.
Meyer’s order also instructs Delaware officials to deny extradition requests from states that criminalize gender-affirming care for minors. It further bars professional licensing boards from disciplining health care providers for offering or sharing information about treatments that are legal in Delaware.
“Across the country, people are being punished for seeking or providing gender-affirming care,” the governor said in a statement. “In Delaware, we cherish privacy, dignity, and the right to make personal medical decisions. Everyone deserves the freedom to access healthcare rooted in science and compassion.”
Meyer’s executive order follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care, which allows medical professionals to be fined, disciplined — including the potential loss of their license — or sued for providing hormonal or surgical treatments to transgender minors. Twenty-four other states have similar laws on the books.
Meanwhile, 14 other states and Washington, D.C., have “shield” or “sanctuary” laws similar to Meyer’s order, allowing individuals to travel to those jurisdictions without fear of prosecution.
New Jersey and Arizona, like Delaware, have “shield” executive orders protecting medical information, though future governors could rescind them. Arizona also bans surgical interventions on minors, though hormonal treatments remain legal.
State Rep. DeShanna Neal (D-Elsmere), who has previously pushed for a shield law in Delaware, praised Meyer’s executive order at last Friday’s signing ceremony.
“I want to thank Governor Meyer for his actions today and for helping me keep a 20-year promise to my daughter and all the families this fight has helped,” Neal said. “I have been fighting and fighting for gender-affirming care to be protected. When this executive order came up, I knew the promise I made to my daughter — and to all trans people who deserve dignity, respect, and care — was finally being fulfilled.”
Members of Delaware’s newly formed LGBTQ+ Commission, created by former Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, backed Meyer’s order. The commission, tasked with combating anti-LGBTQ discrimination, held its first meeting immediately following the signing ceremony.
“Transgender Delawareans and those traveling here for care can now breathe a little easier,” said Cora Castle, chair of the Delaware LGBTQ+ Commission. “This executive order reflects what science and medical experts have said for years: gender-affirming care is lifesaving. It also shows what happens when people with lived experience are trusted to help shape policy — we lead with both empathy and evidence. Delaware is proving what it means to protect all its people.”
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