Hospitals Split on Transgender Care for Minors Amid Trump Executive Order

A California judge has extended a temporary restraining order requiring Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego to continue providing transgender treatments to minors, even as hospitals across the country respond differently to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order threatening to pull federal funding from facilities offering such care.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner last week extended the restraining order by 15 days, through March 15, allowing Rady to continue providing hormone therapy and puberty blockers to minors despite the Trump administration’s efforts to ban such treatments.

The judge’s decision stands in stark contrast to the approach taken by NYU Langone Health, one of New York City’s largest hospital networks, which announced this week it would discontinue its Transgender Youth Health Program. Hospital officials cited “the current regulatory environment” and the departure of their medical director as reasons for the closure.

“We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change. This does not impact our pediatric mental health care programs, which will continue,” NYU Langone stated.

At the center of this healthcare dilemma is Trump’s executive order, signed shortly after his return to office, which seeks to end transgender treatments for minors nationwide. In December, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed rules that would strip federal Medicare and Medicaid funding from hospitals providing what the administration terms “sex-rejecting procedures” for individuals under 18.

For many hospitals, including Rady Children’s Hospital, losing federal funding could be financially devastating. Rady’s lawyers argued in court that continuing treatments for minors, even temporarily, could expose the hospital to immediate financial risk given its position as Southern California’s largest children’s healthcare provider.

Judge Braner acknowledged these concerns, noting that hospitals likely feel caught “between a rock and a hard place” amid heightened scrutiny. However, he assured that any funding threats could be quickly addressed. “We’ll clear our calendar, and we’ll have a hearing within 24 hours of any notice” from HHS, he said, according to local media reports.

These reassurances did little to calm Rady’s legal team, who emphasized that even a short window of continued treatments could pose a “catastrophic risk” to the hospital’s finances.

The impact of Trump’s executive order has already been substantial. According to data compiled by STAT News earlier this month, more than 40 hospitals across the United States have restricted transgender treatments for minors to comply with the administration’s guidance.

Rady itself had previously announced it would halt treatments for minors in accordance with the federal directive. That announcement prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta to file a lawsuit earlier this year, leading to the current restraining order.

The divergent approaches by hospitals in California and New York highlight the complex challenges healthcare providers face when navigating between state and federal regulations on contentious healthcare issues.

For California, a state that has positioned itself as a sanctuary for gender-affirming care, the court’s decision represents a temporary victory for those supporting continued access to transgender treatments for minors. Meanwhile, facilities in other states appear to be rapidly adjusting their policies to align with the new federal guidance, potentially creating a patchwork of available care across the country.

As the March 15 deadline approaches, Rady Children’s Hospital will continue providing transgender treatments to minors already under their care, while hospital administrators and legal teams prepare for whatever comes next in this ongoing national healthcare policy debate.