Judge orders hospital to resume gender-affirming care for trans youth despite threats from Trump - LGBTQ Nation

Children's Hospital Colorado suspended most gender-affirming care for trans youth in January after a threat from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Colorado Supreme Court ordered the hospital to resume its care program, ruling the suspension violated Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws. The court found the hospital’s response specifically targeted transgender youth patients and that the Kennedy declaration may have influenced the decision without removing the hospital’s responsibility. The hospital had previously suspended care in February 2025, then resumed after a federal judge blocked a Trump executive order. After subpoenas and a December 2025 declaration questioning safety and effectiveness, the hospital again suspended care for minors. Patients filed a class-action lawsuit, and the Supreme Court issued a 5-2 ruling for the plaintiffs.

"Although CHC acted reluctantly and expressed no animus toward transgender patients, the action it chose to take in response to the Kennedy Declaration specifically targeted transgender youth patients. The Kennedy Declaration may have influenced CHC's decision, but it doesn't absolve CHC of responsibility."

"Children's Hospital Colorado suspended most gender-affirming care for trans youth in January after a threat from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. against hospitals that provide such care. Now the Colorado Supreme Court has ordered CHC to resume its care program, ruling that suspending care violates the state's anti-discrimination laws."

"Since then, CHC has also become one of many hospitals to receive a subpoena for patient records related to gender-affirming care for minors. In December 2025, Kennedy released a declaration that gender-affirming care was neither safe nor effective and suggested that hospitals that provided it could be punished. CHC was then referred to the Office of the Attorney General for investigation, and in January, the hospital announced it had suspended gender-affirming care for those under the age of 18."

"The patients affected by this suspension filed a class-action lawsuit against CHC. While a lower court initially declined to grant an injunction to restore care, the Colorado Supreme Court this week issued a 5-2 decision in favor of the plaintiffs."

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