Families of trans youth fleeing hostile states are currently facing a cost-of-living crisis as they are forced to move to progressive areas that are also more expensive. Photo by Francois PICARD / AFP via Getty Images.
Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia, and Washington D.C. said Thursday they have stopped providing healthcare for young transgender people.
Denver Health in Colorado has stopped providing gender-related surgeries for people under age 19, a spokesperson told the Associated Press on Thursday. It was unclear whether the hospital will continue providing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to young people, as Trump’s executive order targeted both for possible persecution.
Insights for the LGBTQ+ community
Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
In Virginia, the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond said medication and surgical procedures for trans youth have been “suspended.”
In Washington D.C., Children’s National Hospital said it had “paused prescriptions of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to comply with the directives while we assess the situation further.” Children’s National does not provide gender-related surgery for minors, a spokesperson said.
Trump’s order, signed Tuesday, directs agencies to review hospitals receiving federal research and education grants and halt funding for those not in compliance with the order.
Other hospitals said they would continue providing care under threat from the Trump administration.
“Our team will continue to advocate for access to medically necessary care, grounded in science and compassion for the patient-families we are so privileged to serve,” a statement from Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago said.
They added current practices would continue while hospital officials review the order and assess “any potential impact to the clinical services we offer to our patient families.”
Denver Health acknowledged Trump’s order would affect the mental health of trans youth and said their patients would continue to receive primary and behavioral health care.
“Denver Health is committed to and deeply concerned for the health and safety of our gender diverse patients under the age of 19,” the hospital’s statement said, even as they halted medical care for them.
WPATH, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, said in a statement that restrictions and bans on “access to necessary medical care for transgender youth are harmful to patients and their families.”
Trump’s executive order singled out WPATH’s well-regarded guidance as “junk science.”
Following Trump’s order on Tuesday, the ACLU and other organizations vowed to fight it.
“This order will not take immediate effect, and we will not allow this policy to stand,” the ACLU posted to Bluesky. “Providers can still provide gender-affirming care to transgender people under the age of 19, but this order directs federal agencies to take steps toward withholding funds from providers who do.”
They called the president’s executive order a “dangerous and sweeping attempt to control our bodies, our families, and our lives.”
Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.
