In response to mounting political pressure from the Trump administration, Stanford Medicine has discontinued conducting gender-affirming procedures on individuals under the age of 19, joining Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in pulling back healthcare for transgender youth.
Stanford Medicine paused providing gender-related surgical procedures as part of our comprehensive range of medical services for LGBTQ+ patients under the age of 19, effective June 2, the university said in a statement provided to The Times after carefully reviewing the most recent federal actions and directives and consulting with clinical leadership, including our multidisciplinary LGBTQ+ program and its providers.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles made a similar announcement on July 22 when it decided to close its long-running healthcare program that serves some 3,000 transgender children and young people.
California
According to a message examined by The Times, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles would no longer provide transgender care services.
Following a thorough review of federal policies that restrict healthcare providers’ capacity to provide transgender medical services to young people, both medical facilities stated that this was a difficult decision.
According to a statement from Stanford Medicine, we took this action to safeguard our patients and providers. Given how profoundly this affects the people and families who rely on our vital care and support, we did not make this choice lightly.
Stanford will continue to run the Stanford Pediatric and Adolescent Gender Clinic and provide other gender-affirming care outside of surgery, while CHLA closes its whole Center for Transyouth Health and Development.
The Stanford Clinic was established in 2015 to offer medical therapies, such as hormone blockers and mental assistance for children undergoing gender identity transition, to youngsters who identify as gender nonconforming.
Trump issued an executive order in January directing government agencies to reduce federal funding for healthcare providers who give minors with gender-affirming care.
According to the executive order, the United States will strictly enforce any laws that forbid or restrict these harmful and life-altering practices, and it will not finance, sponsor, encourage, help, or support the so-called transition of a child from one sex to another.
In March, a federal judge blocked this order.
Medicine and Science
The outcome of the presidential election and the Supreme Court’s decision next summer will determine the future of trans healthcare. However, these LGBTQ+ medical professionals are committed to offering care that is gender-affirming.
Strict penalties have been threatened for physicians and hospitals who provide care that the administration opposes, according to federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In a memo sent in April, U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi informed medical practitioners that female genital mutilation is a felony, directed U.S. attorneys to prosecute such acts, and instructed the FBI to look into possible criminal activity.
In a June communication to employees, management at Children’s Hospital L.A. stated that these dangers were no longer hypothetical. When taken as a whole, the Attorney General memo, the HHS review, and the recent FBI tip request to report hospitals and providers of GAC [gender-affirming care] clearly indicate that this Administration intends to act swiftly and decisively, both criminally and civilly, against any organization it believes is violating GAC.
The Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s restriction on giving transgender teenagers hormone therapy and puberty blockers last week. Twenty-three other Republican-led states have passed similar legislation in the past four years. California still maintains the right to provide hormone therapy and puberty blockers to adolescents with gender dysphoria.
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