The U.S. Justice Department last week sent a letter to states warning them against passing legislation that would discriminate against transgender youth, including measures that would ban them from seeking gender-affirming treatments.

The warning from the department's top civil rights lawyer comes at a time when Republican-controlled states around the country have been enacting a variety of bills aimed squarely at transgender youth.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, in a letter to state attorneys general saying:

"State laws and policies that prevent parents or guardians from following the advice of a healthcare professional regarding what may be medically necessary or otherwise appropriate care for transgender minors may infringe on rights protected by both the Equal Protection and the Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment."

Clarke's letter, which was timed with the International Transgender Day of Visibility, comes at a time when civil rights organizations are challenging a new directive by Texas Governor Greg Abbott targeting transgender youth. (For on this, Click Here.