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A ruling by the First Instance Court of Contentious, Administrative, and Tax Matters No. 4 of the City of Buenos Aires ordered the city government to guarantee hormonal treatments for people under 18 years of age. Judge Elena Amanda Liberatori also apologized to trans adolescents for the health problems caused by Decree 62/25, with which the national government prohibited this type of treatment for minors . This is the first setback faced by the regulation, within the framework of the dozens of injunctions being processed throughout the country.

The 82-page document brings together national and international legislation, documentation, and detailed reports on the rights protected by children and adolescents, such as the right to health, identity, autonomy, and the development of a life plan. It responds to a lawsuit filed by the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender People (FALGBT) , represented by María Rachid and Flavia Massenzio, against the Buenos Aires City Government.

"It is evident that the 'immediate application' of the DNU (...) restricts, hinders, impedes, and blocks access to healthcare for trans children and adolescents in the City of Buenos Aires, but also prevents them from recognizing their own identity and thus excludes them, which is why it is discriminatory," states Judge Liberatori's ruling.

Within this framework, it decided to order the Buenos Aires city government to "fully guarantee, through public health sector providers (hospitals, mental health centers, CESACS, etc.), the continuity of hormone treatments in place prior to the issuance of DNU 62/2025 and access to new treatments following said regulation."

Gender Identity Law

The national government's Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) 62/25 modifies Article 11 of the Gender Identity Law (No. 26,743), which expresses the right to free personal development. It replaces it with a text prohibiting treatment for minors. "Persons under EIGHTEEN (18) years of age may not access the interventions and treatments referred to in this article," the decree states. 

When asked by the Judiciary about its attitude toward the DNU, the Buenos Aires City Government responded that it had implemented it "immediately." It also included a statement from the Argentine Society of Pediatrics in which this entity believes that treatments should be continued and suggests working on a national research protocol that includes adolescents eligible for hormone treatment. In response to this statement, contrary to the decision to implement the DNU, the judge responded that it is incomprehensible that the Court would take note of it when the Buenos Aires City Government's Ministry of Health itself did not. She also did not provide details about what she means by stating that it was immediately implemented, nor what its position is regarding whether or not to continue the treatments.

In this regard, at the Federal Health Council (COFESA) meeting last Monday, authorities from the National Ministry of Health and provincial health representatives stated: "With regard to Decree of Necessity and Urgency No. 62/2025, we interpret that it does not apply to minors under 18 years of age whose hormone treatments began prior to the effective date of the regulation. These treatments may continue as directed by the treating physician."

However, this distinction between those who have already begun treatment and those who would be doing so for the first time "is arbitrary," Judge Liberatori analyzes. "It is based solely on the before and after of DNU 62/2025, without considering individual characteristics or the instructions of the treating physicians."

In addition to seriously violating the right to gender identity and the right to non-discrimination, the implementation of the decree violates the progressive capacity of children and adolescents to access health care and care for their own bodies, the ruling states.

Decision on the bodies 

With the 2015 reform of the Civil and Commercial Code, Article 26 established that, starting at age 16, adolescents have full capacity to decide about their own bodily care. Meanwhile, those between 13 and 16 have the capacity to make decisions for themselves regarding treatments that are not invasive and do not compromise their health or pose a serious risk to their life. If treatments are invasive or risky, consent must be given with the assistance of their parents.

This progressive autonomy is valued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), as is the right of children and adolescents to be heard and to have their opinions taken into account in all proceedings affecting them.

Regarding the importance of gender transition processes, the IACHR explains that "they are not limited to merely aesthetic issues, but rather involve the personal realization of one's own identity, how each person sees themselves and how they wish to be seen by others. They are mechanisms that allow trans and gender-diverse people to fully exercise the right to freely develop their personality according to their own gender identity and expression."

Family testimonies

This identification with a gender different from the one assigned at birth can occur at a very early age. The recent study carried out by the Trans Childhood and Adolescence Care Group (GANAT) at Durand Hospital —cited in the ruling—revealed that in 54% of 90 respondents, the age of "coming out" was before the age of 10, while 42% reported ages between 11 and 14. Similarly, the "Report on the current situation of the experiences of trans children" (2021) by the Civil Association Infancias Libres showed that the first expressions of an identity different from the gender assigned at birth occur mainly between the ages of 1 and 4 (42%), and secondarily, between the ages of 5 and 8 (36%).

“You can't say a child doesn't feel this way. Many people commit suicide or become depressed. Children don't lie: they feel this way, and that's who they are,” Jaqueline Correa, a 43-year-old mother of Gabriel, a 17-year-old trans youth, told Presentes . She is one of the plaintiffs who filed suit against the DNU.

Jaqueline and Gabriel participate in the Transgender Secretariat , which provides free support to diverse children, adolescents, and families. “They have a small age group. And the kids started saying, ‘We're losing everything.’ Others were depressed or afraid, and so were the parents,” Correa shared.

"My son's endocrinologist had told him the very day the DNU was published that they were increasing his testosterone dose and that he would be able to use the injections in three months. When he got his hopes up, he backed off because he only has three months' worth of medication," he continued.

The impact of misinformation 

The current context, in which misinformation about sexual diversity is proliferating from officials and the president, is a breeding ground for violent acts. After Gabriel's speech in the Chamber of Deputies, in which he asked people to "listen to the children," his mother received a series of insults.

"That we parents mutilate our children, that we let them do abhorrent things. A president has to take care of his citizens, not generate hatred among the population. Especially for children and adolescents who are going through a difficult stage of their lives," he shared.

He also warned about other problems related to this context: “Doctors are afraid. There are kids over 18 who have had their operations canceled. They're going all out. We can't live in a country where we're afraid of who we are or where doctors can't practice medicine properly.”

Actions throughout the country

Across the country, various organizations, families, and volunteer lawyers filed injunctions against the decree. 

"We filed a petition in the Federal Court for the entire country, then a collective petition in Buenos Aires City, another in the Province of Buenos Aires, and several other provinces. We made the injunction template available to volunteer lawyers from at least 14 provinces who offered to litigate. They will continue filing in the coming days," said María Rachid, a member of the FALGBT board of directors. 

In addition, the Pride and Struggle Front, together with organizations and families, promoted three injunctions in the province of Buenos Aires, involving 14 adolescents, and one in the City of Buenos Aires, involving four youth under the age of 18.

“In Tucumán, we as the Transformando Familias Foundation—where we support trans people and their families—have filed a collective protection suit, advised by the lawyer from the Mujeres por Mujeres Foundation. We have already obtained legitimacy from the Court, so we are on the right track,” shared Laura Quintana, a member of the Trans Formando Familias .

In La Pampa, on the other hand, two injunctions were filed in the provincial and federal courts. "The request was not only for an injunction to annul the decree, but also for it to be declared unconstitutional. And injunctions to prevent its effects from being applied," Milagros Martin, a professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights at the National University of La Pampa, told Presentes. She is also a member of the Network of Self-Convened Lesbian Identities (RILA) , where she organized a meeting with families together with Pampa Trans to discuss strategies to address the decree.

“Various medical studies and health organizations, such as the Argentine Pediatric Society, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), have warned that abruptly discontinuing hormone therapy in trans adolescents can lead to serious physical and psychological consequences, including severe depression, anxiety, and an increased risk of suicide,” the organizations warned.

For now, the Neuquén Ministry of Health reported that the province of Neuquén will continue to guarantee access to comprehensive healthcare for the trans population at all stages of their lives. They explained: "Under no circumstances will any treatment already initiated be discontinued. For the initiation of gender-affirming medical and surgical treatments for persons under 18 years of age, it will be necessary to inform the Undersecretariat of Health so that they can be evaluated, always prioritizing full access to the individual's rights and evaluations by the appropriate medical teams."