New Jersey is now a “safe haven” for transgender people, after Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Monday directing all state departments to protect both adult and minor patients and health care providers from punishment for seeking, receiving or providing gender-affirming health care. This applies even if they travel to New Jersey from out of state.
Under the executive order, state agencies will also be barred from cooperating with another state’s investigation; it will also stop the extradition of patients to other states in those instances. The move comes as more than a dozen Republican-controlled states have restricted transgender rights. New Jersey is home to an estimated 30,000 transgender and nonbinary residents.
