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More hospitals are pulling back on providing “gender-affirming care” for youth patients, in accordance with a recent executive order against these practices.
Rush Medical Center in Chicago is the latest large health system to announce that it is stopping these gender-related treatments.
The hospital’s spokesperson, Tobin Klinger, confirmed to local outlets that it has “paused” hormonal therapies for new patients under 18.
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Rush has not provided gender-related surgery for minors since 2023, according to Klinger.
(Adults will continue to be eligible for treatments, as will minors who were already receiving care.)
These changes follow President Donald Trump’s executive order, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” which was issued on January 28, 2025.
The order states that the administration will not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another,” and that it will “rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
For patients age 19 and under, “chemical and surgical mutilation” includes the use of puberty blockers, sex hormones and surgical procedures, according to the order on The White House’s website.
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On July 9, the Department of Justice announced that it has issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing “transgender medical procedures” on children.
“Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement on the DOJ’s website.
Other hospitals appear to have followed actions similar to Rush Medical Center.
NewYork-Presbyterian appears to have removed and changed online verbiage for its COMPASS Program, which was previously described as a “a safe space for youth navigating their gender experience” offering “puberty suppression and gender-affirming hormone treatment.”
“You don’t permanently alter your body without exhausting every other option first.”
The website now describes the program as “a supportive space for youth and gender,” and references to gender-affirming care have been removed.
A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian provided the below statement to Fox News Digital.
“We continue to work through this evolving situation to comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. As always, our priority is to serve all our patients in a compassionate and responsible way.”
Stanford Medicine has also reportedly halted “gender-affirming surgeries,” according to a statement provided to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“After careful review of the latest actions and directives from the federal government and following consultations with clinical leadership, including our multidisciplinary LGBTQ+ program and its providers, Stanford Medicine paused providing gender-related surgical procedures as part of our comprehensive range of medical services for LGBTQ+ patients under the age of 19, effective June 2, 2025,” the statement said.
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It was also reported that shortly after Trump’s executive order, NYU Langone canceled some appointments for hormone treatments and gender surgeries, with parents claiming they were told the hospital no longer offers those services to new patients under 19.
Cleveland Clinic also responded to Fox News Digital’s inquiry, confirming that the clinic “does not provide gender-affirming treatments for patients under the age of 19.”
Previous studies have suggested that “gender-affirming surgeries” can be harmful to young people’s mental health.
Researchers determined that rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and substance-use disorders were “significantly higher” among those with gender dysphoria who underwent surgery.
Florida neurosurgeon Dr. Brett Osborn and Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist and author, both previously cautioned against gender-affirming surgeries for youth.
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Teens who are being treated for gender dysphoria should be “properly supported and treated with compassion” without being pressured into making “life-altering” medical decisions, Alpert advised.
Osborn also stressed the need for comprehensive psychological evaluations, especially for those with preexisting mental health challenges. Mental health support, lifestyle modifications and counseling should all take precedence before surgery, not after, he said.
On July 9, the Department of Justice announced it’s issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing “transgender medical procedures” on children.
“You don’t amputate a limb because of temporary pain, and you certainly don’t permanently alter your body without exhausting every other option first,” he said.
Osborn expressed the same cautions about hormone therapy — “we’re talking about irreversible changes that demand lifelong management.”
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“This isn’t about politics and ideology — it’s about health, longevity and making sure people don’t undergo drastic, life-altering procedures only to regret them,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to all hospitals mentioned above for comment.
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