Fenway Health ends gender-affirming care services for teens, citing federal pressure
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Fenway Health is the latest U.S. health care provider to stop offering puberty blockers and hormones to teens during the Trump administration.
Between the lines: Fenway Health said it had to choose between ending services and keeping them at risk of losing federal funding to offer low- and middle-income residents primary care.
- Families with trans teens, however, say the move is devastating to their children who rely on puberty blockers and hormones or who were awaiting surgeries in the LGBTQ+-friendly state.
Driving the news: Fenway Health issued a statement Monday and sent a letter to patients saying it is "unable to provide" gender-affirming care for patients under age 19, citing a change in federal requirements that took effect Oct. 1.
- Fenway Health said it made the change to meet the federal requirements to keep its status as a federally qualified health center, which offers services to patients regardless of their ability to pay.
What they're saying: "Losing this status would challenge our ability to meet the needs of all who rely on us," Fenway Health said in a statement on its website, noting that it serves more than 30,000 residents in New England.
- "Our priority through this process, as always, is to center patients by focusing on the health, safety and continuity of care of those impacted as well as our broader patient population as we navigate these new federal requirements."
Patients told the Queer Agenda that they learned of the news through a message on their online health care portal.
- It's unclear whether Fenway is helping patients find providers who offer hormones and puberty blockers. A representative for Fenway Health declined to comment Wednesday when asked by Axios Boston.
State Rep. John Moran, a Boston Democrat and part of the legislature's LGBTQ+ caucus, said he recognizes the move was a difficult decision for Fenway's board of directors.
- "As an LGBTQ+ legislator and a proud Fenway patient myself, I know that — even in the face of this change — the dedicated teams at Fenway will continue to do everything they can to support the impacted patients."
Context: Teens often undergo evaluations, counseling and other steps before they can be approved for gender-affirming care.
- Sometimes they involve puberty blockers, which pause puberty. Teens later may get hormones or undergo surgeries so their bodies reflect their gender identity rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.
Yes, but: The programs have come under scrutiny by social conservatives who argue that parents are having children mutilated, and several states have banned the practice despite medical experts saying they can benefit trans teens' mental health.
- Other programs have faced protests or doxxing campaigns, like Boston Children's Hospital did by Libs of TikTok in 2022.
Zoom out: More than two dozen states have outlawed gender-affirming care for minors since 2021, per NBC News.
- While the Trump administration's efforts to end services in states where it's legal were partially blocked by a judge, a subsequent memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi threatening federal investigations of doctors who provide gender-affirming care has prompted hospitals to act.
- As of August, at least 21 hospitals had already stopped prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to trans patients or announced plans to end services, including Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.