Latest news with #genderaffirmingcare
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
UChicago Medicine to discontinue all gender-affirming pediatric care
CHICAGO — Bowing to federal pressure under the Trump administration, UChicago Medicine has become the latest Illinois hospital to end gender-affirming pediatric care. The decision, announced Friday, leaves no room for ongoing transitional care, and an unknown number of patients in limbo. 'UChicago Medicine has reached the difficult decision that, in response to continued federal actions, it will discontinue all gender-affirming pediatric care effective immediately,' the hospital said in a statement. 'We understand that this news will have a significant impact on our patients.' The announcement by UChicago Medicine, the esteemed century-old academic medical health system based at the University of Chicago, follows a similar decision by Rush University System for Health, which 'paused' hormonal care to new patients under the age of 18 beginning July 1. Rush is continuing to offer mental and behavioral support, but referring gender care patients that need additional treatment to other providers. UChicago Medicine will no longer be on that shrinking list of hospitals providing gender-affirming pediatric care, which can include counseling, medications to delay puberty and surgery. In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order ostensibly protecting children under 19 from 'chemical and surgical mutilation' that threatened to withhold federal research grants as well as Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for institutions that provide such pediatric gender care services. 'We reached this conclusion in light of emerging federal actions, which would place at risk our ability to care for all Medicare or Medicaid patients,' UChicago Medicine said in its statement. 'These patients make up the majority of those we serve. As the largest Medicaid provider in Illinois, this step is necessary to ensure UChicago Medicine can continue serving our broader community and delivering on our mission.' Federal pressure to end gender-affirming pediatric care has caused several Chicago-area hospitals to curtail such services. In February, Lurie Children's Hospital paused gender-affirming surgeries for patients younger than 19, a policy which remains in place, the hospital said earlier this week. Meanwhile, UI Health allegedly canceled an Illinois teenager's gender-affirming chest surgery, according to a February federal court filing. Reached earlier this week, UI Health would not say if it was still providing gender-affirming care to minors. As for UChicago Medicine, all gender-affirming pediatric care ends Friday. 'Our focus right now is working with affected patients to discuss options going forward,' the hospital said in its statement. _____ Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
7 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Prominent hospitals across America are halting gender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors
More hospitals are pulling back on providing "gender-affirming care" for youth patients, in accordance with a recent executive order against these practices. Rush Medical Center in Chicago is the latest large health system to announce that it is stopping these gender-related treatments. The hospital's spokesperson, Tobin Klinger, confirmed to local outlets that it has "paused" hormonal therapies for new patients under 18. Rush has not provided gender-related surgery for minors since 2023, according to Klinger. (Adults will continue to be eligible for treatments, as will minors who were already receiving care.) These changes follow President Donald Trump's executive order, titled "Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation," which was issued on January 28, 2025. The order states that the administration will not "fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another," and that it will "rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures." For patients age 19 and under, "chemical and surgical mutilation" includes the use of puberty blockers, sex hormones and surgical procedures, according to the order on The White House's website. On July 9, the Department of Justice announced that it has issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing "transgender medical procedures" on children. "Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement on the DOJ's website. Other hospitals appear to have followed actions similar to Rush Medical Center. NewYork-Presbyterian appears to have removed and changed online verbiage for its COMPASS Program, which was previously described as a "a safe space for youth navigating their gender experience" offering "puberty suppression and gender-affirming hormone treatment." "You don't permanently alter your body without exhausting every other option first." The website now describes the program as "a supportive space for youth and gender," and references to gender-affirming care have been removed. A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian provided the below statement to Fox News Digital. "We continue to work through this evolving situation to comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. As always, our priority is to serve all our patients in a compassionate and responsible way." Stanford Medicine has also reportedly halted "gender-affirming surgeries," according to a statement provided to the San Francisco Chronicle. "After careful review of the latest actions and directives from the federal government and following consultations with clinical leadership, including our multidisciplinary LGBTQ+ program and its providers, 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, 2025," the statement said. It was also reported that shortly after Trump's executive order, NYU Langone canceled some appointments for hormone treatments and gender surgeries, with parents claiming they were told the hospital no longer offers those services to new patients under 19. Cleveland Clinic also responded to Fox News Digital's inquiry, confirming that the clinic "does not provide gender-affirming treatments for patients under the age of 19." Previous studies have suggested that "gender-affirming surgeries" can be harmful to young people's mental health. Researchers determined that rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and substance-use disorders were "significantly higher" among those with gender dysphoria who underwent surgery. Florida neurosurgeon Dr. Brett Osborn and Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist and author, both previously cautioned against gender-affirming surgeries for youth. Teens who are being treated for gender dysphoria should be "properly supported and treated with compassion" without being pressured into making "life-altering" medical decisions, Alpert advised. Osborn also stressed the need for comprehensive psychological evaluations, especially for those with preexisting mental health challenges. Mental health support, lifestyle modifications and counseling should all take precedence before surgery, not after, he said. On July 9, the Department of Justice announced it's issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing "transgender medical procedures" on children. "You don't amputate a limb because of temporary pain, and you certainly don't permanently alter your body without exhausting every other option first," he said. Osborn expressed the same cautions about hormone therapy — "we're talking about irreversible changes that demand lifelong management." For more Health articles, visit "This isn't about politics and ideology — it's about health, longevity and making sure people don't undergo drastic, life-altering procedures only to regret them," he said. Fox News Digital reached out to all hospitals mentioned above for comment.
Fox News
7 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Prominent hospitals are halting gender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors
More hospitals are pulling back on providing "gender-affirming care" for youth patients, in accordance with a recent executive order against these practices. Rush Medical Center in Chicago is the latest large health system to announce that it is stopping these gender-related treatments. The hospital's spokesperson, Tobin Klinger, confirmed to local outlets that it has "paused" hormonal therapies for new patients under 18. Rush has not provided gender-related surgery for minors since 2023, according to Klinger. (Adults will continue to be eligible for treatments, as will minors who were already receiving care.) These changes follow President Donald Trump's executive order, titled "Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation," which was issued on January 28, 2025. The order states that the administration will not "fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another," and that it will "rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures." For patients age 19 and under, "chemical and surgical mutilation" includes the use of puberty blockers, sex hormones and surgical procedures, according to the order on The White House's website. On July 9, the Department of Justice announced that it has issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing "transgender medical procedures" on children. "Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement on the DOJ's website. Other hospitals appear to have followed actions similar to Rush Medical Center. NewYork-Presbyterian appears to have removed and changed online verbiage for its COMPASS Program, which was previously described as a "a safe space for youth navigating their gender experience" offering "puberty suppression and gender-affirming hormone treatment." "You don't permanently alter your body without exhausting every other option first." The website now describes the program as "a supportive space for youth and gender," and references to gender-affirming care have been removed. A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian provided the below statement to Fox News Digital. "We continue to work through this evolving situation to comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. As always, our priority is to serve all our patients in a compassionate and responsible way." Stanford Medicine has also reportedly halted "gender-affirming surgeries," according to a statement provided to the San Francisco Chronicle. "After careful review of the latest actions and directives from the federal government and following consultations with clinical leadership, including our multidisciplinary LGBTQ+ program and its providers, 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, 2025," the statement said. It was also reported that shortly after Trump's executive order, NYU Langone canceled some appointments for hormone treatments and gender surgeries, with parents claiming they were told the hospital no longer offers those services to new patients under 19. Cleveland Clinic also responded to Fox News Digital's inquiry, confirming that the clinic "does not provide gender-affirming treatments for patients under the age of 19." Previous studies have suggested that "gender-affirming surgeries" can be harmful to young people's mental health. Researchers determined that rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and substance-use disorders were "significantly higher" among those with gender dysphoria who underwent surgery. Florida neurosurgeon Dr. Brett Osborn and Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist and author, both previously cautioned against gender-affirming surgeries for youth. Teens who are being treated for gender dysphoria should be "properly supported and treated with compassion" without being pressured into making "life-altering" medical decisions, Alpert advised. Osborn also stressed the need for comprehensive psychological evaluations, especially for those with preexisting mental health challenges. Mental health support, lifestyle modifications and counseling should all take precedence before surgery, not after, he said. On July 9, the Department of Justice announced it's issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing "transgender medical procedures" on children. "You don't amputate a limb because of temporary pain, and you certainly don't permanently alter your body without exhausting every other option first," he said. Osborn expressed the same cautions about hormone therapy — "we're talking about irreversible changes that demand lifelong management." For more Health articles, visit "This isn't about politics and ideology — it's about health, longevity and making sure people don't undergo drastic, life-altering procedures only to regret them," he said. Fox News Digital reached out to all hospitals mentioned above for comment.
CBS News
15-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Chicago's Rush University Medical Center pausing gender-affirming care for minors
Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is pausing providing gender-affirming care to new patients who are minors, a spokesperson said Tuesday. The spokesperson said Rush's decision was made in collaboration in clinical leaders. The spokesperson also noted the hospital does not provide surgical treatment for gender-affirming care for minors and has not performed such surgeries since 2023. The hospital will continue to provide mental health, behavior health and social services for gender care patients of every age, and said gender-affirming care – both hormonal and surgical – for patients over the age of18 is not affected by the change. Rush said it will provide referrals for all patients who require services they don't offer, and said the hospital "continues to be a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community." Multiple states have moved to restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors, though Illinois is not one of them. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law restricting access to gender-affirming care to minors, ruling along party and ideological lines that the law does not violate the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. President Trump has issued two executive orders addressing what he calls "gender ideology," one which declares the federal government's policy to recognize "two sexes, male and the female," and a second that threatens federal funding to for medical institutions that offer gender-affirming care to patients under the age of 18. The Rush spokesperson did not mention Mr. Trump's executive order when discussing the hospital's policy change.
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
DoJ subpoenas clinics and doctors who offer gender-affirming care to minors
The US Department of Justice said on Wednesday it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to clinics and doctors who offer gender-affirming care to minors. It was not immediately clear to whom the requests were sent and the kind of information that was requested. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued a memo on 22 April saying the justice department would investigate and prosecute those who were providing transgender care to children. The memo instructed federal prosecutors 'to investigate all suspected cases of [female genital mutilation] – under the banner of so-called 'gender-affirming care' or otherwise-and to prosecute all FGM offenses to the fullest extent possible'. Several medical associations have said that transgender care can provide lifesaving treatment for both children and adults, the Guardian has reported. A 2022 study by researchers at Stanford University found better mental health outcomes for transgender people who started receiving hormone therapy as teens compared with those who waited until they were adults. Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Bondi's April memo said the department would investigate manufacturers and distributors engaged in misbranding by making false claims about the on- or off-label use of puberty blockers, sex hormones or any other drug used to facilitate a child's gender transition. The department has yet to file charges against anyone in connection with providing transgender care. Nonetheless, the point of the investigation may be to intimidate those who provide care from doing so. 'It's meant to have a chilling effect on physicians providing access to necessary care, fearing that it will be characterized as chemical and surgical mutilation of children,' Robin Maril, a law professor at Willamette University, told NBC News in April. In a 6-3 decision last month, the US supreme court upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors. In total, 27 states have laws that limit gender-affirming care for minors, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
