One of the largest healthcare and hospital systems in Pennsylvania has joined the growing ranks of organizations canceling gender-affirming care for transgender youth amid pressure from the Trump administration.
UPMC has signaled it will stop providing gender-affirming care to individuals under the age of 19 to comply with directives from the Trump White House.
“UPMC is fully committed to providing exceptional care for all our patients. We continue to monitor and comply with directives coming from the federal government that affect the ability of our clinicians to provide specific types of care for patients under the age of 19," the hospital system said n a statement released to PennLive. “We continue to offer necessary behavioral health and other support within the bounds of the law. We empathize with the patients and families who are directly affected by these ongoing changes.”
UPMC’s decision comes in the wake of an executive order from President Trump threatening to withhold funding to schools, companies and health care providers that provide gender-affirming care. The scope of the president’s policy extends to institutions and schools that provide opportunities for transgender people in the scholastics sports realm.
Trump signed an executive order banning transgender females from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams at the scholastic level. Some legal experts argue the order is illegal and non-binding.
UPMC has about 40 hospitals and 800 doctors’ offices, making it a significant healthcare provider and insurer in Pennsylvania.
Trump earlier this month paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over its transgender athlete policies. In a social media post, the Trump administration said the Ivy League university’s policies are “forcing women to compete with men in sports.”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has reinforced the president’s orders, prompting a wave of hospitals and health care systems to cancel such care in order to comply with the orders.
This week the transgender community in Pennsylvania and its allies and advocates gathered at the state Capitol to draw attention to the myriad assaults on transgender rights.
Speakers, including parents and clergy, urged state and federal officials to protect the rights of transgender youth, including health care.
Across the country, statehouses have introduced more than 400 anti-trans bills — more than the number introduced in the previous four years combined, a Washington Post report found.
The Pennsylvania Legislature also is poised to shepherd anti-trans bills through the legislative session, although Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and supporter of LGBTQ rights, is unlikely to sign any legislation limiting the rights to transgender people.
A Senate committee recently passed a bill banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports. The bill cleared the Senate Education Committee on a party-line vote, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed.
Just days after his second inauguration, Trump issued an executive order banning health care institutions that receive federal funding from providing gender-affirming care to those under 19.
A judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of the order, but that has not stopped institutions from complying.
LGBTQ advocates have identified 21 priority areas in their legislative agenda, the majority advancing LGBTQ equality, equity, and inclusion for the estimated 750,000 Pennsylvanians who identify as LGBTQ.
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