Kaiser Permanente pauses gender-affirming care for youth under 19

Stanford no longer providing gender-affirming surgeries for children

Stanford Medicine has paused gender-related surgeries for patients under the age of 19.

OAKLAND, Calif. - Kaiser Permanente will pause gender-affirming surgeries for patients under the age of 19, the healthcare provider announced.

The change goes into effect on Aug. 29.

Political pressure

What we know:

The decision comes amid pressure from the Trump administration to restrict gender-affirming care for youth. 

Stanford Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have also recently scaled back similar services for young people.

In January, the Trump administration issued an executive order prohibiting some federal funding to hospitals that offer those types of treatments.

Citing those federal actions, Kaiser said it will pause surgical care for patients under 19 years old.

"After significant deliberation and consultation with internal and external experts including our physicians, we’ve made the difficult decision," Kaiser said in a statement. "We recognize that this is an extremely challenging and stressful time for our patients seeking care, as well as for our clinicians whose mission is to care for them. We will work closely with each patient to support their care journey. We will remain a voice and advocate for safe, high-quality, and evidence-based care for transgender patients."