Hospitals in Virginia, Colorado and Washington, D.C., suspended body-altering interventions for minors confused about their sex in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to ban federal funding for the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children.
Denver Health in Colorado and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU are just a few hospitals in the nation that have announced a suspension of so-called “gender-affirming care.”
The Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., also announced a pause in the prescription of puberty blockers and hormone-suppressing drugs for trans-identified youth patients. The hospital said it already did not perform sex-change surgeries on minors.
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Trump issued an executive order Tuesday titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” calling for the removal of federal funding from medical schools and hospitals that condone life-altering, experimental treatments for gender dysphoric children.
The word “children” in the order refers to individuals under 19 years of age. In addition to ending federal funding of so-called “gender-affirming care,” the order instructed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to publish a review of the existing literature on “best practices” for helping children experiencing gender dysphoria or confusion about their identity.
In response to an inquiry from The Christian Post, a spokeswoman for VCU directed the outlet to a statement on the webpage for the children’s hospital.
“VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU have suspended gender-affirming medication and gender-affirming surgical procedures for those under 19 years old in response to clear guidance from the state provided to VCU,” the statement reads. “We are committed to ensuring that we’re always delivering care in accordance with the law.”
“Appointments will be maintained to discuss specific care options for patients in compliance with the most recent guidance,” the announcement continued.
Denver Health announced in a Thursday statement that it suspended sex-change surgeries for children under the age of 19 while it seeks to understand how to comply with Trump’s executive order.
Denver Health did not say whether it plans to pause offering hormone-suppressing drugs to teens, as 9NEWS reports.
“The executive order includes criminal and financial consequences for those who do not comply, including placing participation in federal programs including Medicare, Medicaid and other programs administered by HHS at risk,” the hospital’s statement reads.
Denver Health did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
Under the order, the HHS secretary must take all “appropriate actions” that are consistent with the law “to end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.” Under the order, some coverage of mutilating interventions for minors will be excluded from Medicaid and Medicare.
“These programs represent a significant portion of Denver Health’s funding, and the executive order specifically states that should we not comply, our participation in these programs is at risk,” Denver Health said about its practices for treating gender dysphoric minors. “The loss of this funding would critically impair our ability to provide care for the Denver community.”
“Denver Health is proud to be one of a very small number of providers of comprehensive care services to all of our patients including to LGBTQ+ and gender-diverse patients,” the hospital added. “As we navigate the order’s requirements, we will continue to provide primary and behavioral health care to all impacted youth and will work to maintain the level of trust we have built with the LGBTQ+ community.”
The hospital encourages patients to proceed with scheduled primary care and behavioral health care visits and to discuss potential changes to their treatment plans with their doctors.
The order comes as some foreign and state governments have reexamined approaches amid exponential increases in children who suffer from gender dysphoria seeking medical help.
In the United States, over two dozen states have enacted policies restricting genital-mutilating surgeries or hormone interventions for minors who suffer from gender dysphoria.
In 2024, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service released the Cass Review laying out recommendations from the NHS England Policy Working Group regarding practices medical professionals should follow when assisting youth exhibiting gender dysphoria.
The review was chaired by Dr. Hilary Cass, the retired former president of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health. Following the report, the NHS indefinitely banned the use of puberty-blocking drugs on children who struggle with gender dysphoria except for in clinical trials.
Cass’ report found studies claiming that puberty-blockers help improve the well-being of children suffering from gender dysphoria are of “poor” quality. The review also recommended “extreme caution” for prescribing irreversible cross-sex hormones to minors.
“The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress,” Cass wrote in the report’s introduction.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
