Children’s Minnesota announced Tuesday that it will temporarily pause prescribing puberty-suppressing medications and pubertal hormones to patients under the age of 18 in its Gender Health program. This decision will take effect on Feb. 27, if federal actions targeting pediatric health systems that provide this type of care remain unchanged.
Gender-affirming care for transgender youth remains legal in Minnesota, and the program at Children’s Minnesota is still operational, according to the hospital’s statement. However, the Trump administration continues to use various methods to restrict access to care.
“These threats jeopardize the stability of Minnesota’s only comprehensive pediatric health care system, and they threaten our clinicians’ ability to practice medicine now and in the future,” the statement read.
About a year ago, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office, declaring that the U.S. government would recognize only two sexes, female and male. One week into his presidency, Trump signed another executive order aimed at restricting access to gender-affirming health care for transgender people under the age of 19. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the presidential order.
Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed rules to prohibit hospitals from providing puberty blockers, hormone treatments or surgeries to transgender youth if such services are covered by Medicare or Medicaid. The administration has also threatened to withdraw federal funding from any hospital that offers these treatments, even in states where they are legal.
Children’s Minnesota said it will continue to provide care, mental health services and guidance on both medical and non-medical treatment options for patients and their families.
A spokesperson for the hospital wrote in the statement that this was not the decision Children’s Minnesota wanted to make but felt it was necessary to protect its providers and the hospital. Health care teams have been in direct contact with families.
The hospital remains “committed to advocating for the dignity and well-being of the patients and families who trust us with their care and stands firmly behind the fact that gender-affirming care is evidence-based, safe, and lifesaving for transgender and gender-diverse youth.”
More than 30 major medical associations and health organizations worldwide support health care for transgender people and youth.
In recent years, 27 states have enacted laws restricting access to gender-affirming care for youth, while the Minnesota Legislature passed a law in 2023 protecting the rights of transgender individuals to seek and receive gender-affirming health. The law remains in effect.