Today, the Administration released a sweeping executive order which would xxxxx. Shamelessly, the Administration is attempting to cloak these attacks on millions of Americans as “religious liberty.”

“This Executive Order allows healthcare providers to slam their doors on women who need abortion care, even to save their lives. It puts a legal stamp of approval on pharmacists who refuse to fill emergency contraception prescriptions for survivors of sexual assault. It would permit pediatricians to refuse to treat the sick child of a same-sex couple. It would even allow a homeless shelter which received federal funds to leave LGBT youth out in the cold. It’s immoral, inhuman, and un-American,” said Debra Hauser, President of Advocates for Youth.

Young people are moving our country forward, not backward. They won’t stand for the decimation of civil rights or for a government-sanctioned right to discriminate. Advocates for Youth works with thousands of activists who are fighting on the federal, state, and local level for LGBT rights, abortion access, and the rights of Muslim young people. They are working toward a just and free society even in the face of constant attacks on their rights and well-being.

“Young people across the country, myself included, have organized and advocated tirelessly for years now, to ensure that our very own LGBT community is safe and protected. I came out publicly as gay for the very first time when I was 17 years old, in front of state legislators that were voting on a bill that included LGBT people like myself in health education. I cannot believe that five years later, federal action can and will put my safety, future and livelihood in jeopardy with a bigoted piece of writing that only reflects the hatred and ignorance that continues to spew out of our White House,” said Adrian Nava, a youth activist working on LGBT issues. “We will not back down and we will continue to organize and fight. It is clear that under this Administration, everything our community has risked our lives for, from Stonewall to Marriage Equality, and now Transgender visibility – is under attack.

Young people and all who support young people’s health and rights will resist this order with vigilance.