UI Health ends gender-affirming pediatric surgery as Illinois joins federal lawsuit against Trump administration
But Illinois and 15 other states are fighting back in a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for 'intimidating providers' into denying such care.
On Friday, UI Health became the latest hospital to suspend gender-affirming surgical procedures for adolescents effective immediately, according to an announcement posted on the hospital's website.
'After careful review of recent federal government actions, UI Health has made the following changes to its gender-affirming surgical services,' the health system posted. 'Effective Aug. 1, 2025, UI Health has suspended gender-affirming surgical procedures for patients under age 19. Any patient working toward or scheduled for surgery will need to postpone surgery until they reach age 19.'
UI Health is an academic health system associated with the University of Illinois Chicago. Its main facility is the 438-bed University of Illinois Hospital – the state's only public general hospital – which is located on Taylor Street at the center of the Illinois Medical District.
In response to a request for comment Friday, UI Health forwarded its posted announcement and added a clarifying statement, leaving the door open to gender-affirming adolescent surgery in the future — if allowed by federal policy.
'We recognize the importance of gender-affirming care in supporting the health and well-being of our patients,' UI Health said in the statement. 'We are committed to working closely with affected individuals and families to ensure continuity of care and support. UI Health remains steadfast in its mission to provide compassionate, inclusive, and patient-centered care for all. We are closely monitoring federal updates to determine if or when to resume these services to patients under age 19.'
The move by UI Health to suspend gender-affirming pediatric surgeries follows similar recent actions by other major Chicago hospitals.
On July 18, UChicago Medicine announced it was discontinuing all gender-affirming pediatric care, while Rush University System for Health 'paused' hormonal care to new patients under the age of 18 beginning July 1.
A January 28 executive action by President Donald Trump precipitated the gender-affirming care policy changes for hospitals across the U.S.
Trump's order to prevent children under 19 from undergoing 'chemical and surgical mutilation' threatened to withhold federal research grants as well as Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for institutions that provide such pediatric gender care services.
The impact was immediate for some hospitals, with Lurie Children's Hospital pausing gender-affirming surgeries for patients younger than 19 in February, a policy which remains in place.
Meanwhile, UI Health allegedly canceled an Illinois teenager's gender-affirming chest surgery, according to a February filing in a Maryland federal court.
In the case, which is ongoing, the teen's mother said in a declaration the UI Health surgeon called her the day after Trump's executive order was issued to say the hospital 'was worried about losing millions of dollars in funding' and would not allow them to proceed with the scheduled surgery.
On Friday, Illinois joined 15 other states in suing Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department for denying access to gender-affirming care for patients under 19.
The Trump administration is 'intimidating providers into ceasing care through threats of civil and criminal prosecution,' according to the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal court.
'These threats have no basis in law,' the lawsuit states. 'No federal law prohibits, much less criminalizes, the provision or receipt of gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents. In fact, federal healthcare programs have reimbursed the provision of such care for years.'
The lawsuit is seeking to declare Trump's order unconstitutional and unlawful, and to set aside subsequent federal actions targeting doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that provide 'medically necessary' gender-affirming care to adolescents.
rchannick@chicagotribune.com
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