Hospitals in various states have halted their “gender-affirming care” treatments for minors after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Thursday to cut federal support for these treatments.
Trump’s executive order comes amid ongoing debate and discussion about how to help minors who suffer from gender dysphoria. Under the Biden administration, the White House actively supported the use of puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and other forms of “gender-affirming care,” which many argue are dangerous for children.
Several hospitals told reporters that they were pausing these treatments for minors.
Denver Health in Colorado has stopped providing gender-affirming surgeries for people under age 19, a spokesperson confirmed Thursday, in order to comply with the executive order and continue receiving federal funding. It is unclear whether the hospital will continue providing other gender-affirming care for youth, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers.
In Virginia, VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond said they have suspended gender-affirming medication and gender-affirming surgical procedures for those under 19 years old.
In Washington, D.C., Children’s National Hospital said the hospital had “paused prescriptions of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to comply with the directives while we assess the situation further.” The hospital already did not perform gender-affirming surgery on minors, a spokesperson said Thursday.
The order, titled “Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” states that the United States “will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
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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.
Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding. Moreover, these vulnerable youths’ medical bills may rise throughout their lifetimes, as they are often trapped with lifelong medical complications, a losing war with their own bodies, and, tragically, sterilization.
The president is ordering the Attorney General to “prioritize enforcement of protections against female genital mutilation” and “convene States’ Attorneys General and other law enforcement officers to coordinate the enforcement of laws against female genital mutilation.”
The order also instructs the Attorney General to “prioritize investigations and take appropriate action to end child-abusive practices by so-called sanctuary States that facilitate stripping custody from parents who support the healthy development of their own children, including by considering the application of the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act and recognized constitutional rights.”
The use of “gender-affirming care” has been a controversial topic that featured prominently in the 2024 presidential campaign. Much of the attention has focused on schools and other institutions pushing progressive gender ideology on young children.
Progressives argue that “gender-affirming care” is necessary for saving the lives of trans-identified children. However, several recent studies published over the last year show that puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgeries often cause more harm – especially to children.
Several European nations that have been allowing these treatments on minors have reversed course, including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and others. This occurred after studies showed that “gender-affirming care” can raise the likelihood of suicide and cause irreversible damage.
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