Trump Vowed to Abolish Female Genital Mutilation - and Followed Through
Major U.S. healthcare systems have paused or stopped providing gender-affirming care services for minors, citing regulatory actions or political pressure linked to President Trump's executive order aimed at restricting federal funding for such care.
Kaiser Permanente, based in California, paused gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19 effective August 29, 2025, while continuing nonsurgical care. Stanford Medicine and Children's Hospital Los Angeles have halted gender-affirming surgeries for minors, and the University of Chicago Medicine suspended gender-affirming care for child patients. Rush University Medical Center paused hormonal care and gender-affirming care programs for minors, though it did not provide surgeries previously. Connecticut Children’s halted gender-affirming care programs for minors, and UPMC (Pittsburgh) paused or shut down services amid federal probes and funding fears.
In Washington, D.C., Children's National Hospital paused prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapies for minors. Seattle Children's Hospital, Denver Health, Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, and Mount Sinai and New York-Presbyterian hospitals in New York City have also stopped or paused providing gender-affirming care services for minors. In Pennsylvania, Penn State Health, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the University of Pennsylvania Health System have stopped gender-affirming care for patients under 19. The Hospital of Richmond at VCU Health halted gender-affirming care for new patients under 19, and Northwestern Memorial Hospital stopped sex-change surgeries for minors.
In addition, Children's Hospital Los Angeles closed its Center for Transyouth Health and Development and Gender-Affirming Care, and UChicago suspended gender-affirming care for minors. UCHealth ended so-called "gender-affirming services" for patients under 19, and Stanford Medicine ended sex-change surgeries for minors.
These pauses primarily affect gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments for minors; some systems continue to offer non-surgical supportive care. Several national medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, have publicly affirmed the medical necessity of gender-affirming care, highlighting the ongoing conflict between medical consensus and current federal policy.
President Trump's January 2025 executive order instructed health insurers and federal agencies such as CMS to deny coverage for pediatric transgender surgeries and hormone treatments, and subsequent investigations into providers offering gender-affirming care to minors have been conducted. Despite a temporary judicial halt on the executive order, many institutions remain cautious or have paused services due to legal and funding uncertainties.
It is important to note that the specific practice in question is described as pseudoscientific and has been criticised for being irreversible and barbaric. President Trump pledged to end the practice during his campaign, but the text does not provide any information on the current status of the practice or any impact of Trump's actions on it. The text also does not provide any evidence or data to support the claim that President Trump is the only one who has delivered on ending the practice.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, along with other national medical organizations, have publicly affirmed the medical necessity of gender-affirming care for minors.
- As a result of political pressure and regulatory actions linked to President Trump's executive order, several major U.S. healthcare systems have paused or halted providing gender-affirming care services for minors.
- Amidst federal probes and funding fears, hospitals like Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Connecticut Children’s have halted or closed gender-affirming care programs for minors, while Rush University Medical Center has paused hormonal care and gender-affirming care programs.
- President Trump's executive order from January 2025 instructed health insurers and federal agencies to deny coverage for pediatric transgender surgeries and hormone treatments, leading to legal and funding uncertainties for healthcare institutions offering these services.
- Despite a temporary judicial halt on the executive order, many institutions remain cautious or have paused services due to the ongoing conflict between medical consensus and the current federal policy on gender-affirming care for minors.
