As President Trump increases attacks on transgender communities, AB 1876 seeks to shield them.
by Michelle Zacarias
California legislators and LGBTQ+ advocates are fighting to protect queer and transgender Californians from being discriminated against by pushing for the passage of the Fair Care for All Act.
On June 3, the California Senate Health Committee advanced AB 1876 in a 7–1 vote, sending it to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill passed in the Assembly in May.
The bill is a direct response to the Trump administration’s continued attacks on healthcare access, much of which has targeted LGBTQ+ communities through executive orders and federal funding cuts.
Authored by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay), AB 1876 seeks to protect access to coverage for gender-affirming care, which has been largely stripped from federal health insurance plans. The bill prohibits insurers from discriminating against or denying benefits or gender-affirming care based on gender identity, sex assigned at birth, or related factors.
“Since taking office last year, President Trump has continuously used inflammatory and blatantly false rhetoric to scapegoat transgender individuals as an attempt to justify the rollback of broader civil rights protections in health care,” said Assemblymember Addis at an Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary hearing in April, according to a transcript from Digital Democracy.
“I want to underscore what a dangerous precedent this is,” she continued. “By framing these protections as controversial in the context of gender-affirming care, this administration is opening the door to weakening safeguards against discrimination for all communities, including discrimination based on race, national origin, color, age, disability or sex.”
AB 1876 is supported by a strong coalition of organizations committed to protecting health care access and civil rights across California, including SEIU, Equality California, TransLatin@ Coalition, and the California Teachers’ Association.
“I think that in the climate that we’re currently experiencing—federal protections, really, can change from one administration to the next,” said Jorge Salinas, Communications Director at Equality California.
“It’s really important to note that when people experience discrimination in healthcare, they’re more likely to delay preventative care, which also includes avoiding routine screenings and waiting until a health issue becomes more serious,” Salinas said.
“AB 1876 would ensure that Californians continue to have those protections under state law, regardless of what happens in Washington,” Salinas told Courier California.
Donald Trump ran his 2024 campaign around a promise to eliminate transgender healthcare access through sweeping directives, and he delivered on that promise upon his reelection.
In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order prohibiting hospitals that receive federal funding from providing transition care to anyone under the age of 19. The order also severely restricted access to gender-affirming medical care, labeling puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery as “chemical and surgical mutilation.”
Many major medical institutions and health organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, opposed the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict or defund gender-affirming care.
In June of 2025, the US Department of Health and Human Services enacted final regulations prohibiting gender-affirming care from being covered as an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The Trump administration has also tried to get the medical records of transgender youth from hospitals, but a federal judge in California issued a temporary restraining order against the administration this month, blocking it from getting those records.
The order came in response to a lawsuit filed by six families who received care at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, seeking to block the hospital from turning over their medical records to the US Department of Justice (DOJ). KGOU reported that the DOJ sought out detailed patient files of transgender youth and personnel records of their providers for nearly a year—sparking litigation.
Medical and civil rights groups are now urging legislators to advance AB 1876 and expand patient protections. Supporters say it will help enforce protections in California regardless of federal rollbacks.
Advocates say AB 1876 helps ensure that Californians can seek care when they need it, rather than avoiding the healthcare system for fear of how they’ll be treated.
“It’s really important to note that when people experience discrimination in healthcare, they’re more likely to delay preventative care, which also includes avoiding routine screenings and waiting until a health issue becomes more serious,” Salinas said.
As proponents of the bill continue to build support, there are still many steps to go before it potentially reaches the governor’s desk.
AB 1876 must next be heard and voted on in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If it passes, it will likely go to the Senate Appropriations Committee, then to the Senate Floor for a full vote.
In the meantime, organizations like Equality California and other supporters of the bill continue to urge state senators to vote for the bill to ensure these protections are upheld and codified into state law.
“California has always been a leader in protecting LGBTQ+ people,” said Salinas. “And we continue that work by ensuring that health care remains accessible and free from discrimination.”
