VCU Health to end gender-affirming care for transgender youth again
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VCU Health will no longer provide gender-affirming care to patients under age 19, to comply with President Trump's executive order.
Why it matters: The hospital system — one of the largest in the state — is reversing its February decision to offer some care, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers, to existing youth patients.
Driving the news: VCU Health quietly announced the change on Tuesday morning on its website before staff were notified around 12:30pm, per a systemwide email obtained by Axios.
- The hospital system said it will "wind down these services" over the next three months. In the update, senior leadership wrote that an assessment "revealed no other viable options at this time."
- "While we must end Gender-Affirming Care services for youth under age 19, our doors remain open to all patients and their families for all other health care needs."
- The decision could impact 186 youth patients who were receiving medicinal care as of Tuesday, reports the RTD.
Catch up quick: VCU stopped offering transgender youth care in January before slightly walking the decision back to re-offer puberty blockers and hormone therapy in late February.
- At that time, the hospital system said it wouldn't accept new patients requiring gender-affirming medication or surgeries and was working to move existing youth patients to non-VCU Health providers.
- It came on the heels of a similar board decision at UVA.
Zoom out: Spokesperson Eric Swensen told Axios that UVA's system still offers care to existing trans youth patients.
The big picture: Health systems are facing significant pressure from the Trump administration to stop hormone treatments and puberty blockers to transgender youth or risk federal funding.
- The Trump administration has said these actions are to protect kids, but major medical organizations — including the American Academy of Pediatrics — have said that gender-affirming care is lifesaving medical care.
- And drugs like puberty blockers are temporary, reversible and used for both trans and non-trans youth who experience early-onset puberty.
What we're watching: While a federal judge halted Trump's executive order seeking to cut off funding for hospitals providing gender-affirming medical care to youth, the administration is appealing the decision.
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