Kaiser Permanente halts gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19
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Kaiser Permanente headquarters in downtown Oakland. Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Kaiser Permanente is pausing gender-affirming surgical care for patients under 19 amid escalating attacks from the Trump administration nationwide.
Why it matters: Headquartered in Oakland, Kaiser is one of California's leading health care providers and was among the first to establish a transgender health clinic with comprehensive services in the U.S.
Driving the news: The hospital system, which serves more than 9.5 million people in California, announced this week that its doctors will stop providing gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19 starting Aug. 29.
- "As the legal and regulatory environment for gender-affirming care continues to evolve, we must carefully consider the significant risks being created for health systems, clinicians and patients under the age of 19 seeking this care," reads the statement Kaiser media lead Kathleen Chambers provided to Axios via email.
- The Trump administration directed prosecutors earlier this year to investigate providers of gender-affirming surgical procedures and moved to strip federal funding from hospitals that offer these services to minors.
The other side: Giving in to "this kind of government overreach" poses a much greater risk than providing life-saving care to patients, Lady Rainsard, RN in plastic surgery at Kaiser San Francisco, said in a written statement.
- "It's a huge betrayal," Arne Johnson, who has a 13-year-old transgender daughter, told the San Francisco Standard.
The big picture: Kaiser's decision comes after similar moves by medical centers across the state, including Stanford and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
- The conservative nonprofit Center for American Liberty sued Kaiser in 2023 on behalf of Chloe Cole, alleging that Kaiser's Oakland clinic coerced her into gender-affirming surgery. She detransitioned at age 17.
Between the lines: Gender-affirming care covers the range of social, psychological, behavioral and medical interventions "designed to support and affirm an individual's gender identity" when it conflicts with the sex they were assigned at birth, according to the World Health Organization.
- Major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, consider it medically necessary and potentially lifesaving for trans youth who struggle with gender dysphoria and negative mental health effects.
- Though studies on detransitioning are limited, research by individual doctors and clinics indicates that it's rare, per the Associated Press.
What's next: A protest outside Kaiser's San Francisco location at 2425 Geary Blvd. is planned for 4pm Friday.
Editor's note: This story and headline have been corrected to note that Kaiser Permanente is suspending gender-affirming surgeries (not all gender-affirming care).