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Several major children’s hospitals in the United States have stopped giving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and trans-related surgeries to minors in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order that threatens to withhold federal funding from institutions that continue the harmful treatments and procedures.
On Jan. 28, Trump signed an executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” in which he affirmed: “Across the country today, medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions. This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.”
In response to the order, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) released a statement claiming that “policies that restrict or ban access to necessary medical care for transgender youth are harmful to patients and their families.”
“Healthcare decisions should be made by patients, families, and their healthcare professionals, guided by evidence-based practices, clinical guidelines, and individual needs rather than government mandates,” the organization added.
In June 2024, CatholicVote reported on the release of court documents that revealed the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Health and Human Services pressured WPATH to remove recommended age minimums for hormone drugs and surgeries from its guidelines in order to advance the agency’s political agenda.
“The documents reveal Biden’s assistant secretary for health, Rachel (born Richard) Levine, a man who calls himself a woman, pressed WPATH to eliminate the age minimums to foster the Biden administration’s pro- ‘transgender’ political agenda,” CatholicVote reported.
As CatholicVote reported last month, some hospitals have already responded to Trump’s executive order.
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) said in a statement released January 30 that it has “suspended gender-affirming medications and gender-affirming surgical procedures for patients under 19 years old in response to an Executive Order issued by the White House on January 28, 2025, and related state guidance received by VCU on January 30, 2025.”
“Our doors remain open to all patients and their families for screening, counseling, mental health care and all other health care needs,” the statement added.
Nevertheless, the hospital continued with the following list of services:
Our specialists in endocrinology and adolescent medicine work together to provide well-rounded care for children and teens in a gender-friendly environment.
Care is tailored to each patient and may include:
- Medical evaluation
- Medical hormone management
- Prescription medications
- Mental health care
- Voice therapy
- Letters of medical necessity to address hormone treatment, school issues and/or surgery (as needed)
- Referrals to other medical and surgical specialists (as needed)
- Referrals to peer and family support groups
- Educational materials
>> LAST MONTH: HOSPITALS PAUSE CHILD ‘TRANS’ SURGERIES’ AFTER TRUMP ORDER <<
CatholicVote reached out to Children’s Hospital at VCU for comment.
Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. released a statement on January 30 that read it is “committed to providing compassionate and comprehensive care in accordance with the law.”
“As a result, we are currently pausing all puberty blockers and hormone therapy prescriptions for transgender youth patients,” the statement continued, “per the guidelines in the Executive Order issued by the White House this week. Children’s National already does not perform gender affirming surgery for minors.
“We will do everything we can to ensure the same uninterrupted access to mental health counseling, social support, and holistic and respectful care for every patient at Children’s National,” the statement added.
In a statement also released on January 30, Denver Health said it is “committed to and deeply concerned for the health and safety of our gender diverse patients under the age of 19 in light of the executive order regarding youth gender-affirming care. We recognize this order will impact gender-diverse youth, including increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicidality.”
The hospital continued that it is “working to understand and comply with the full implications of the broadly worded order,” but appears to have drawn the conclusion that the loss of federal funding that would come with continuing the trans treatments would leave the hospital “at risk.”
“Guidance on changes to medical care is being handled privately so that we can best support our patients and their families,” the Denver Health statement explained. “The executive order, which was issued on January 28, 2025, includes criminal and financial consequences for those who do not comply, including placing participation in federal programs including Medicare, Medicaid and other programs administered by HHS at risk. These programs represent a significant portion of Denver Health’s funding, and the executive order specifically states that should we not comply, our participation in these programs is at risk. The loss of this funding would critically impair our ability to provide care for the Denver community.”
Some hospitals in Democrat-led states have received dire warnings from their state attorneys general, informing them that complying with the president’s executive order would place them in violation of state anti-discrimination laws.
Though New York University (NYU) Langone Health began canceling appointments for practicing so-called “gender-affirming care” on children, New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, sent a letter to hospitals Monday informing them of their “obligations to comply with New York State laws,” reported the New York Times.
“Electing to refuse services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, is discrimination under New York law,” James’ letter warned.
NYU Langone Health continues to advertise that its Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital provides “affirming healthcare for transgender and gender diverse youth and their families.”
“Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU has been designated an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group,” the hospital boasts. “We are the first and only children’s hospital in New York City to earn this designation.”
The popular X account Libs of TikTok reported that California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, “told a hospital to ignore Trump’s EO and continue providing puberty blockers and sex change surgery to minors or they will be in violation of discrimination laws.”
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong released a statement on Wednesday regarding his decision to join a coalition of 14 other attorneys general from Democrat-led states to “reaffirm their commitment to protecting access to gender-affirming care in the face of the Trump Administration’s recent Executive Order.”
“The Trump Administration’s recent Executive Order is wrong on the science and the law,” the coalition stated.
According to a news report Tuesday at CT Mirror, Connecticut Children’s CEO Jim Shmerling said his hospital offers neither medication nor hormone treatments to prepubescent children and does not provide surgeries.
Shmerling added he was astounded by the “political backlash against gender-affirming care.”
“There’s a tremendous amount of misinformation and lack of understanding and emotion around this issue,” Shmerling said, touting that Connecticut Children’s follows “guidelines provided by major medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Pediatric Endocrine Society and the Society of Pediatric Psychology.”
However, Dr. Michael Artigues, president of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds), said Trump’s executive order is “a major step toward ending harmful medical interventions on minors.”
“It reaffirms a commitment to healthy, ethical, and evidence-based pediatric care—an approach long advocated and practiced by all members of ACPeds,” Artigues pointed out. ”It is essential to emphasize the importance of protecting youth and providing comprehensive, quality psychological support to all children struggling with gender dysphoria. This requires collective efforts to promote and expand access to such care.”
According to a report at the Associated Press, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is continuing its gender services to minors while reviewing the president’s executive order and “assessing any potential impact to the clinical services we offer to our patient families.”
“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 the hospital said.
Becker’s Hospital Review reported Monday that a spokesperson for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said the facility is “closely reviewing recent government actions, including the executive order on Jan. 28, to understand how they might impact care for the children who rely on [it].”
The Children’s Hospital Association also told Becker’s it is reviewing the order as well.
