Colorado Hospitals Finally Stop Giving Kids Transgender Hormones — For Now

Two Colorado hospitals have agreed to stop giving children transgender drugs after the Trump administration promised an investigation.

Children’s Hospital Colorado and Denver Health both announced on Friday that they suspended issuing new and renewing current prescriptions for cross-sex hormones for minors, according to The Colorado Sun. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in December referred one hospital to the inspector general after they refused to follow President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for an end to the “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children.

“We recognize the anxiety and grief that this continued uncertainty around access to gender affirming care creates for those who have shown unwavering dedication and commitment to supporting children in embracing their true selves,” Children’s Hospital Colorado wrote in a note to patients of the hospital’s TRUE Center for Gender Diversity, according to the Sun. “We continue to believe that all families, including the families of transgender children, should have the ability to seek and receive the expert medical care their child needs to thrive.”

In response to the president’s directive, HHS released a series of proposed regulations in December “to bar hospitals from performing sex-rejecting procedures on children under age 18 as a condition of participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs.”

“These changes, which are made necessary by the actions of HHS, substantially affect access to critical health services,” Denver Health said in a statement, according to the Sun. “We also are concerned that the important relationships built between our providers and patients to help make informed decisions about their care are being disrupted.”