Federal judge undercuts Trump's executive order on 'radical gender ideology'

The ruling marked a victory for Planned Parenthood affiliates in California, Iowa and New York, who sued to try to block enforcement of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy change. The ruling will apply to all organizations that receive grants. 

HHS, which oversees the program, declined to comment on Tuesday's ruling.

HHS had previously said in a policy document issued in July that the guidance for the program "ensures that taxpayer dollars no longer support content that undermines parental rights, promotes radical gender ideology, or exposes children to sexually explicit material under the banner of public health."

Howell agreed, writing in her ruling that the HHS policy provided "incomprehensibly vague" requirements and "seemingly relied on irrelevant ideological factors, and did not justify its change in position."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.