Stanford Medicine has stopped performing sex-expressing surgeries on patients under the age of 19 and has joined the Los Angeles Children's Hospital to provide scaled-down health care for transgender youth amid growing political pressure.
“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 violent procedures as part of our comprehensive range of medical services for LGBTQ+ patients under the age of 19, effective June 2,” Stanford Medicine said in a statement provided to The Times.
The announcement echoes a similar decision by Children's Hospital in Los Angeles to close its long-standing health care program, which served about 3,000 transgender children and young people on July 22.
Both healthcare agencies said it was a careful analysis of the federal action, a difficult decision that hindered healthcare providers’ ability to provide trans-health care services to young people.
“We took this step to protect our providers and patients,” Stanford Medicine said in a statement. “It’s not a decision we make easily, especially knowing how profound this is for individuals and families who rely on our basic care and support.”
When CHLA closes the entire Truns County Center for Health and Development, Stanford will continue to operate Stanford Pediatrics and Adolescent Gender Clinics and provide other types of gender care outside of surgical procedures.
The Stanford University clinic was founded in 2015 to provide medical services to young people with gender ineligible, including hormone blockers and psychiatric support for children with transitional gender identity.
In January, Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to cut federal funds to healthcare providers who provide gender-affirming care for minors.
“The U.S. policy is that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support a child’s “transition” from one gender to another, and it will strictly enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-changing procedures,” the Executive Order said. ”
A federal judge blocked the order in March.
Federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services warned the strict consequences for doctors and hospitals that are opposing care.
In April, the United States. General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum notifying medical providers that “female genital mutilation” is a felony, directed the FBI to investigate potential crimes and directed U.S. lawyers to prosecute such behavior.
“These threats are no longer theoretical,” Los Angeles Children’s Hospital executive wrote in a June email to staff. “About [gender-affirming care] Strongly demonstrate the Government's intention to take prompt and decisive actions, including crime and civil, to any entity that violates executive orders. ”
Last week, the Supreme Court insisted that Tennessee ban on providing pubertal blockers and hormone treatments for transgender adolescents. There are similar laws in 23 other Republican-led states, all of which have been made over the past four years. California continues to maintain the right to prescribe pubertal blockers and hormone therapy for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
