Several Hospitals Halt Transgender Surgeries for Minors Following Trump’s Directive
Denver Health, VCU Health, and Children’s Hospital are among the institutions putting a stop to transgender surgeries for minors.
On January 30, hospitals located in Colorado, Virginia, and the capital of the United States announced that they have halted transgender procedures for minors as they review the new executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
As a spokesperson confirmed, Denver Health in Colorado has ceased offering transgender surgeries like breast removal for individuals under 19 years old to align with the executive order and maintain its federal funding. It remains uncertain if the hospital will continue administering other transgender treatments and medications for youths, including puberty blockers.
In Virginia, both VCU Health and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond declared that they have suspended transgender medication and surgical services for patients younger than 19.
Children’s National Hospital in Washington has stated that it has “paused prescriptions for puberty blockers and hormone therapy to adhere to the newly issued directives while we further assess the situation.” As per a spokesperson, the hospital had previously not conducted transgender surgeries on minors.
This order establishes that it is now U.S. policy to refrain from funding, promoting, or assisting in “the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another.” It also asserts that the U.S. government “will vigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or restrict these harmful and life-changing procedures.”
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The executive order instructs heads of agencies that distribute grants to medical facilities to “take immediate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants cease the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”
Several other hospitals, including Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, expressed that their existing practices would remain unchanged after the order was enacted.
“Our team will continue to champion access to medically necessary care, grounded in science and compassion for the patient families we are honored to serve,” the hospital stated.
Furthermore, the order tasked the U.S. health secretary with taking steps to end child sex surgeries, including through Medicare, and directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to prohibit child sex surgeries from being covered under the military-operated TRICARE health insurance program.
