Children's Hospital Los Angeles ending transgender care programs following pressure from Trump

Children's Hospital LA ending transgender care

Children's Hospital Los Angeles announced it is closing its Center for Transyouth Health and Development and ending gender-affirming surgeries after pressure from President Donald Trump.

LOS ANGELES - Children's Hospital Los Angeles is ending transgender care, citing pressure from the Trump administration and the threat of losing federal funding.

What we know:

Hospital officials announced the decision to close its Center for Transyouth Health and Development and end its surgery program for gender-affirming care surgery.  

In the memo, officials said they made the decision based on several factors, including pressure from President Donald Trump's administration, California's massive budget deficit, and "growing economic uncertainty."

"Alone, each of these developments would pose a significant challenge to CHLA," the memo read. "Together, they are creating an immediate and unsustainable strain on our fiscal resiliency."

The backstory:

In February, CHLA briefly paused new enrollment in gender-affirming care for patients under 19 years old. The move was a reaction to an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Jan. 28, which directed federal agencies to eliminate access to gender-affirming care for children, which the order referred to as "chemical and surgical mutilation."

The hospital restarted new enrollments in just a few weeks. Now, however, hospital leaders say pressure from federal agencies is forcing them to rethink that.

SUGGESTED: Children's Hospital LA pausing gender-affirming care for patients under 19

New directives from those in the Trump administration are indicating coming crackdowns on facilities that offer gender-affirming care. 

In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent out a memo demanding U.S. Attorneys "investigate all suspected cases of [female genital mutilation] under the guise of so-called ‘gender-affirming care,’" and to prosecute facilities that offer the treatment.

CHLA also pointed to a review from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which specifically called out their hospital's gender-affirming care treatments. 

The hospital says these documents "strongly signal this Administration’s intent to take swift and decisive action, both criminal and civil, against any entity it views as being in violation of the executive order."

California faces $12 billion budget deficit

Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing cuts to healthcare for undocumented immigrants as the California budget deficit swells to as high as $12 billion.

By the numbers:

For CHLA, it came down to the numbers. According to leadership, nearly two-thirds of their annual funding comes from the federal government, "more than any other pediatric hospital in the state."

Without federal funding, the hospital says it could only stay operational for 50 days. And without CHLA, the hospital says, LA County would lose nearly 40% of the county's pediatric hospital beds.

SUGGESTED: Gov. Newsom proposes pausing healthcare expansion to low-income immigrants

What they're saying:

"These threats are no longer theoretical," the hospital's memo read. "The federal government has already cut off hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. academic and research institutions for noncompliance with executive orders, often with little to no warning."

What's next:

The hospital will end its transgender healthcare programs on July 22. Officials said they have begun notifying families, and that doctors are working with their patients to figure out other places where they can get treatment.