Alaska’s medical landscape is bracing for a seismic shift as the state’s politically appointed medical board voted unanimously on Friday, August 22, 2025, to advance sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors and to urge lawmakers to curtail access to abortion in the late stages of pregnancy. The move places Alaska squarely in the national spotlight, echoing a broader trend among Republican-led states to clamp down on both abortion and transgender rights, even as legal battles and public resistance continue to mount.
The Alaska State Medical Board, comprised of six members all appointed by Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy, approved a draft regulation that would define providing gender transition care to anyone under 18 as “unprofessional conduct”—on par with practicing medicine while intoxicated. Under this proposal, doctors and other medical providers who offer puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or surgeries like mastectomy or phalloplasty to transgender youth could face disciplinary action, including the possible revocation of their medical licenses. The regulation now heads to the Alaska Department of Law for vetting, after which it will be subject to a 30-day public comment period before any final decision is made.
According to the Alaska Beacon, the board’s action was not limited to transgender care. In a separate vote, members approved a letter to the state legislature declaring that abortions late in pregnancy are not “ethical medical practice” and urging lawmakers to restrict access. Currently, abortion remains legal in Alaska, protected by a state Supreme Court precedent that interprets the Alaska Constitution’s privacy clause as encompassing medical decisions, including abortion. Only nine states and the District of Columbia have similarly few restrictions, making Alaska’s stance a rarity in today’s political climate.
Board member Dave Wilson, a commercial pilot who holds a public seat, insisted during the board’s Zoom meeting that the transgender care regulation was a response to public concern, not political pressure. “This was brought to us as a concern by members of the public, and we acted on that. This is not politically driven. This is not politically motivated,” Wilson said, as reported by the Alaska Beacon. Sitting alongside Wilson was Dr. Matt Heilala, a podiatrist and Republican gubernatorial candidate, who emphasized the regulation’s alignment with national and international policy shifts. “Earlier in the year, we’ve seen a lot more study that is alarming,” Heilala remarked. “Policy shifts across the world, and we have strong support of the governor on this. More than half of the states have either outright banned or curtailed this care. And I think it does need to be pointed out, a regulation is an opportunity and a tool to be used at the discretion of the board.”
Should the regulation go into effect, Alaska would join 27 other states—almost all with Republican majorities—that have enacted laws or policies restricting gender-affirming care for children. The proposed language prohibits “medical or surgical intervention to treat gender dysphoria or facilitate gender transition by altering sex characteristics inconsistent with the biological sex at birth, including but not limited to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, mastectomy, phalloplasty, or genital modification to a minor under the age of 18 years old.” The phrase “biological sex at birth,” often invoked by Christian conservatives, stands in sharp contrast to the positions of leading U.S. medical organizations. The American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, continues to support access to gender-affirming care for youth, citing its necessity for the well-being of transgender children and adolescents.
Public reaction to the board’s proposal was swift and overwhelmingly negative. Testimony during the August 22 meeting was uniformly against the draft regulation. Tom Pittman, executive director of Identity Inc., which provides gender-affirming care to minors in Alaska, told the board, “The proposed regulation strips parents of their ability to work with trusted doctors to make the best decisions for their child. It shrinks the already fragile provider network and endangers children’s lives.” Dr. Lindsey Banning, a licensed psychologist and parent of a transgender child, added, “It’s quite simply the standard of care for trans folks that’s accepted by all major medical organizations in this country. Blocking access to this care has devastating consequences on the health and well being of trans kids, dramatically raising (their) rates of depression, anxiety and suicide, and yet somehow we’re here watching this politically appointed medical board brazenly ask us to ignore the research and opt to politicize the healthcare choices of Alaskans.”
Alaska’s regulatory push comes amid a national wave of anti-transgender policies, especially since President Donald Trump’s return to office. According to HuffPost, the Trump administration has issued a steady stream of executive orders and agency policies targeting transgender rights, prompting states to navigate a tangled web of federal and state directives. The confusion is not just bureaucratic—real families and medical providers are caught in the crossfire. In Utah, for example, the High School Activities Association recently cited a Trump executive order in its decision to exclude trans girls from sports, despite a state court blocking such a ban. Legal experts say these federal directives, while not law, are creating unprecedented legal ambiguity and risk for those advocating for transgender youth.
Recognizing the urgency, civil rights attorney Khadijah Silver and the nonprofit Lawyers for Good Government launched the Policy Resource Hub for Transgender Rights on August 19, 2025. This public online database tracks and analyzes state policies around gender-affirming care, education, public accommodations, and constitutional protections for LGBTQ+ people in all 50 states and six territories. The hub is powered by about 500 pro bono attorneys who monitor and update the legal landscape, providing crucial support for families and advocates fighting back against restrictive policies. Silver, a trans parent of two, explained, “The goal is for the hub and its analyses to be easily understood by people of all backgrounds and generations.”
The legal backlash against anti-trans policies is growing. Earlier this month, a coalition of attorneys general from 16 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of circumventing state authority over health and welfare. States like California, Nevada, and New Mexico have explicit constitutional protections for gender identity and have taken steps to shield people who travel from out-of-state for gender-affirming care or abortion. Yet, according to HuffPost, even in states without bans, some hospitals have shuttered gender-affirming care for youth under federal pressure, and the Justice Department has subpoenaed hospitals for sensitive patient data.
Silver warns that the patchwork of state laws is unsustainable. “I do not believe we have a tenable path forward if we just end up with a patchwork of rights,” they said. “Right now, what we’re trying to do is claw back some basic protections while we see the war coming. I’m not going to be happy until trans people can be free and live with full civil rights across the entire country.”
As Alaska prepares for a public comment period and possible legal challenges, the debate over medical autonomy, parental rights, and the well-being of transgender youth is far from settled. The outcome will have profound implications not only for Alaskans but for the national conversation about healthcare, civil rights, and the limits of state power in an era of deepening political divides.
